Chinese government approves expansion of Nanjing joint venture chemical site by BASF and SINOPEC

• Joint investment of $1.4 billion
• Expansion to be operational from 2011 onwards

Nanjing, China – July 7, 2009 – The Chinese central government has approved the Joint Feasibility Study Report submitted by BASF and SINOPEC for the expansion of their joint venture, BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. (BYC), in Nanjing, China, as of July 1, 2009.

BASF and Sinopec will jointly invest approximately $1.4 billion in state-of-the-art technologies to produce downstream specialty chemicals for the Chinese market, serving multiple industries such as construction, electronics, pharmaceutical, automotive and chemical manufacturing.

The investment, which includes the expansion of the existing steam cracker, the construction of 10 new chemical plants, and the expansion of three existing plants, will strengthen the market competitiveness of the joint venture by broadening the product scope and further leveraging the advantages of the integration.

Dr. Martin Brudermüller, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE responsible for Asia Pacific, said, “The economically successful operation of the joint venture over the four years since startup has shown that close cooperation benefits both parties. The expansion of BYC underscores our strong belief in the growth opportunities of the Chinese market and isanother milestone in cooperative development. At the same time, it demonstrates BASF’s long-term commitment to China and will further expand our competitive advantage. With the products from our plants, we will be able to help our customers in China make their industries, businesses and homes more energy efficient.”

Mr. Wang Tianpu, President of Sinopec, said, “The expansion conforms with China’s revitalization plan for the petrochemical industry, fosters the integration of BYC, broadens the portfolio of downstream products in Nanjing, meets the increasing demands in the East China region, and promotes the upgrading of China’s petrochemical industry. With this step, BYC will be among the most competitive sites of Sinopec operations.”

The final approved project scope includes the following:

• The expansion of the existing steam cracker to a total of 740,000 metric tons per year of ethylene
• The development of an integrated ethylene oxide (EO) derivatives value chain, including:
  • The expansion of the existing EO plant and the construction of a new EO purification unit
  • The construction of EO derivatives plants, including a new butyl glycol ether plant, a new non-ionic surfactants plant, and a new amines complex for the production of ethanolamines, ethyleneamines and dimethylethanolamine, and the construction of a new DMA3 plant
• The extension of the acrylics value chain with the construction of a new super-absorbent polymer (SAP) plant
• The expansion of the existing propionic acid and aldehyde plants
• The expansion of the existing oxo-C4 plant
• The development of an integrated C4 complex, including a butadiene extraction plant, a 2-propylheptanol plant, an isobutene extraction plant, and a plant for highly reactive polyisobutene.

Engineering work for the expansion is in full swing. The routine cracker turnaround scheduled for 2010 will be used to tie in the expansion modules and integrate the production processes. The startup will take place in a staggered approach and the expansion will be operational from 2011 onwards.

Simultaneously, Yangzi-BASF Styrenics Co., Ltd. (YBS), another joint venture in Nanjing between the two partners, is being merged into BYC to further increase synergies in Nanjing operations. YBS produces styrene monomer, polystyrene and expandable polystyrene.

About BASF-YPC

BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. is a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and Sinopec, founded in 2000, with a total investment of $2.9 billion in the first phase. The groundbreaking for the site, located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, took place on September 28, 2001. BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. successfully started commercial production at a steam cracker as well as nine downstream plants in June 2005. These plants are interconnected in order to use products, by-products and energy in the most efficient way, to save cost and minimize environmental impact. The site produces high-quality chemicals and polymers for the rapidly growing Chinese market. The site also has a gas-fired power plant and an international port on a tributary of the Yangtze River to ensure optimum energy supply and logistics.

Media contacts

SINOPEC
Zhang Zhiguo
Phone: +86 10 5996 9721
Fax: +86 10 5976 0732
zzguo@sinopec.com.cn

P-09-294