HOUSTON, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lyondell Chemical Company (NYSE: LYO) today announced that Lyondell-Citgo Refining LP (LCR) restarted its fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) over the weekend.

Operating rates of both the 268,000 barrels-per-day refinery and the 98,000 barrels-per-day FCCU are being increased.

  LCR is a joint venture between Lyondell and CITGO Petroleum Corporation.

  ABOUT LYONDELL

Lyondell Chemical Company, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is North America's third-largest independent, publicly traded chemical company. Lyondell is a major global manufacturer of basic chemicals and derivatives including ethylene, propylene, titanium dioxide, styrene, polyethylene, propylene oxide and acetyls. It also is a significant producer of gasoline blending components. The company has a 58.75 percent interest in Lyondell- Citgo Refining LP, a refiner of heavy, high-sulfur crude oil. As a result of Lyondell's November 30, 2004 acquisition of Millennium Chemicals Inc., Millennium and Equistar Chemicals, LP are wholly owned subsidiaries of Lyondell. Lyondell is a global company operating on five continents and employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide.

SOURCE: Lyondell Chemical Company

CONTACT: investors, Douglas J. Pike, +1-713-309-4590, or media, Lisa M.
Martin, +1-713-309-4890, both of Lyondell Chemical Company

Web site: http://www.lyondell.com/