ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, Jan. 31 / -- Lyondell Chemie Nederland B.V., a European subsidiary of Lyondell Chemical Company (NYSE: LYO), has signed a multi-year bio-ethanol supply agreement with CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, a subsidiary of Südzucker Aktiengesellschaft Mannheim/Ochsenfurt. Under the agreement, Lyondell will purchase bio-ethanol from CropEnergies AG’s facility in Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, to be used in the production of bio-ETBE at the Lyondell plant in Botlek, The Netherlands. "This agreement helps satisfy the recent German and Dutch bio-fuel blending obligation laws that resulted from the 2003 EU Bio-fuels Directive, and marks a milestone in our commitment to work with a leading bio-ethanol producer to serve Germany and other European bio-fuels markets," says Marc Quintus, director raw materials sourcing, Lyondell Europe. "I appreciate the cooperation between Lyondell and CropEnergies for both environmental and economic reasons. This not only benefits the German bio-fuels branch, but also the local ethanol production in Saxony-Anhalt. Bio-ETBE is a forward-looking product that complements the different bio-fuels," comments MP Marko Mühlstein, Social Democratic Party Germany (SPD). Bio-ETBE is produced by reacting renewable bio-ethanol from agricultural materials, such as grain and sugar beets, with isobutylene. The resulting product is a clean-burning and high-octane bio-fuel component for blending into gasoline. Lyondell first began producing bio-ETBE in the late 1990s at its Fos-sur-Mer, France, facility and in 2006 increased its production by 300 percent. Lyondell supplies bio-ETBE to major oil companies and independent gasoline producers and retailers throughout Europe. Lyondell expects to begin production of bio-ETBE at its Botlek facility during the first quarter of 2007. 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 refiner of heavy, high-sulfur crude oil and a significant producer of gasoline-blending components. Lyondell is a global company operating on five continents and employs approximately 11,000 people worldwide. SOURCE: Lyondell Chemical Company Web site: http://www.lyondell.com/
