HOUSTON, May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Lyondell Chemical Company (NYSE: LYO) has named Dr. Charles C. Yang to the additional post of Chairman, Lyondell Asia Pacific, and has elected three individuals as Officers of the company.

As Chairman and President of Lyondell Asia Pacific, Dr. Yang will continue to provide leadership and oversight to all Lyondell and Equistar Chemicals, LP functions in the region. He has been President of Lyondell Asia Pacific since 1999 and is based in Hong Kong.

Charlie Graham has been elected Vice President of Lyondell Chemical Company and Executive Vice President of Lyondell Asia Pacific. Previously, Mr. Graham held a number of senior positions in sales, marketing and business management for Lyondell's olefins, aromatics, styrene and polymers businesses. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky.

"The Asia-Pacific region is strategically important for Lyondell," said Dan Smith, President and CEO of Lyondell. "For more than 30 years, we've participated in the region through our Nihon Oxirane partnership. Last year, the region generated more than $1 billion in sales, and we continue to seek additional opportunities in this rapidly developing part of the globe."

Dave Prilutski has been elected Vice President of Lyondell and President of Lyondell Europe, and will have oversight of all Lyondell and Equistar functions in Europe. In addition, he will have global responsibility for the company's styrene and isocyanate businesses. Previously, Mr. Prilutski directed Lyondell's supply chain operations. He has also held senior positions in sales, marketing, R&D and planning. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and an MBA from Drexel University. John Beard, former president of Lyondell Europe, has returned to the United States to accept a new assignment as Senior Vice President, Technology.

Dale Young has been elected Vice President, Supply Chain for Lyondell, with global responsibility for customer fulfillment and materials and services supply. Previously, he held senior positions in a number of Lyondell businesses including oxygenated and urethane chemicals, fuels and methanol. Mr. Young holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston.

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. Lyondell is a global company operating on five continents and employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide.

SOURCE: Lyondell Chemical Company

CONTACT: media, Susan P. Moore, +1-713-652-4645, or investors, Douglas
J. Pike, +1-713-309-7141, both of Lyondell Chemical Company

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