January 09, 2007 - Liaoning Huajin Chemical (Group) Corporation has selected Basell’s Spheripol technology for a new 250 KT per year polypropylene plant it plans to build in Panjin, Liaoning Province in the People's Republic of China. Start-up is expected in 2009.

“The Spheripol process is the most widely used polypropylene technology in the world, with more than 18.5 million tonnes of licensed capacity and we are pleased that the largest chemical group in Liaoning province has joined the extensive list of Spheripol process licensees,” said Just Jansz, president of Basell’s Technology Business.

He added, “In the highly competitive polypropylene market, the superior product range, and cost-effectiveness of the Spheripol process continue to have a major impact in our industry. The Spheripol process offers licensees an elegant and economical method of producing a wide range of polypropylene products. Through the refinement of bulk liquid and gas-phase polymerization reactors this technology includes features that reduce both resource consumption and emissions from process.”

In addition to the Spheripol process, Basell’s portfolio of licensed technologies is comprised of:
• Spherizone – latest generation polypropylene technology based on new multi-zone reactor technology.
• Spherilene – swing gas phase process for the production of LLDPE, MDPE and HDPE.
• Hostalen - low-pressure slurry process for the production of bi-modal HDPE.
• Lupotech T – high pressure tubular reactor process for the production of LDPE and EVA copolymers.
• Metocene - technology for production of specialty polypropylene products based on proprietary single-site catalyst systems

Basell is the global leader in polyolefins technology, production and marketing. It is the largest producer of polypropylene and advanced polyolefin products, a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts, and a global leader in the development and licensing of polypropylene and polyethylene processes. Basell, together with its joint ventures, has manufacturing facilities around the world and sells products in more than 120 countries. Additional information about Basell is available at www.basell.com.

For more information contact Chantal Sohm, Basell Corporate Communications, at +33 1 55 51 21 19 or chantal.sohm@basell.co