March 20, 2006 -- Basell, a global leader in the development, production and marketing of polyolefins, and Skeberis S.A have signed a new agreement under which Skeberis S.A. will become the sole agent for Basell’s growing customer base in Greece.

Effective April 1, Basell will focus on managing certain key customer accounts in Greece while the bulk of the accounts will be managed by Skeberis, a major player in Greece in the trade and distribution of chemicals and raw materials based in Thessaloniki.

As a result of this, all other existing agency agreements in Greece will be terminated as of March 31, 2006.

"Basell and Skeberis have a relatively short but a very fruitful history of successful cooperation," said Werner Breuers, president of Basell Polyolefin's Europe. “In solidifying our relationship with Skeberis we are demonstrating our long-term commitment to one of the fastest growing markets for polyolefins in Europe. We want to make Basell more visible in the Greek markets and we will do so with the help of Skeberis using our comprehensive European supply resources."
 
This agreement will allow Basell to further improve its supply services using the Skeberis local logistic platform.

The new approach to the Greek polyolefin market is in line with similar steps Basell has successfully taken in other parts of its European business to align its customer-facing organisation with the changing needs of customers. “We are striving for simplification wherever we can,” said Breuers. “We want to provide high-quality Basell products to customers in the most efficient manner possible and the newly defined relationship with Skeberis will provide additional flexibility and agility in a marketplace that is ever evolving.”

Basell is the world's 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 1 555 12 119 or chantal.sohm@basell.com