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BASF-YPC Company Limited’s cracker to shut down for maintenance

Steam cracker will be shut down for mandatory maintenance

Expansion work to continue during shut down

Nanjing, China – January 11, 2010 – BASF-YPC Company Limited (“BYC”) will shut

down its steam cracker for a mandatory maintenance turnaround in April and May 2010,

and during this time continue work for its capacity expansion from 600 kt/year to 740

kt/year of ethylene.

BYC's nine existing downstream plants will also be shut down for maintenance during

parts of this period. Contractual obligations to customers during this period will be

adjusted according to the actual maintenance period of each plant. The cracker capacity expansion is a major component of a US$1.4 billion investment

project by BASF and Sinopec. In the project, the capacity of the steam cracker will be

expanded, and 10 new chemical plants will be constructed in addition to the expansion

of three existing plants. A Joint Feasibility Study Report for the expansion was

approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in July 2009, and the

project broke ground in September 2009.

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.

source:web of BASF