World's Most Efficient Production Plant for Propylene Oxide Inaugurated Near Rotterdam

Joint Venture Between Bayer and Lyondell

22-Mar-2004

Following two and a half years' construction, Lyondell Chemical Company (NYSE:LYO) and Bayer MaterialScience AG today officially inaugurated a world-scale propylene oxide/styrene monomer (PO/SM) manufacturing facility in Maasvlakte, near Rotterdam. The plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The new facility is a 50/50 joint venture between Lyondell and Bayer, and uses Lyondell's proprietary PO/SM technology, the most economical production method currently available. Approximately 250 employees are employed by the site. "This world-scale plant, with its leading technology and ideal location near the port of Rotterdam, provides a perfect platform for the production and distribution of our products within Europe and for export to the rest of the world," said Dan Smith, Lyondell President and CEO. He noted that Lyondell is the world's leading PO producer and estimated that the plant represents roughly 5 percent of the industry's global PO capacity. It also establishes Lyondell as a significant styrene producer in Europe.

The new plant has an annual capacity of 285,000 metric tons (625 million pounds) of PO and 635,000 metric tons (1.4 billion pounds) of styrene. Lyondell estimates that worldwide demand for PO was approximately 5.1 million metric tons (11.2 billion pounds) in 2003. Approximately 90 percent of that volume was used for the manufacture of polyols, propylene glycols (PG) and propylene glycol ethers (PGE). The remainder went into the manufacture of specialty products such as butanediol (BDO) and its derivatives.

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