Wilmington, Delaware, October 1, 2002 -- Basell USA Inc. and ConocoPhillips [NYSE: COP] today announced the signing of an agreement under which Basell will be the exclusive purchaser and marketer of the polypropylene resins produced at ConocoPhillips’ new Bayway plant in Linden, N.J. The 775 million pounds-per-year plant is scheduled to start up early next year.
"We are pleased to be joining forces with Basell, an acknowledged worldwide leader in the production and sales of polypropylene, to get Bayway’s new polypropylene capacity into the marketplace," said Tom Nimbley, senior vice president of refining for ConocoPhillips. "Add the Bayway plant’s ability to produce a full range of polypropylene products -- including homopolymers and random and impact copolymers -- and our new arrangement with Basell, and we believe we have a winning combination."
Basell is the world’s largest producer and marketer of polypropylene. The addition of the Bayway plant capacity will increase the polypropylene capacity Basell sells in North America to more than four billion pounds per year.
"The favorable location of the Bayway plant and ConocoPhillips’ noted commitment to operating excellence in combination with Basell’s marketing and sales expertise will further enhance our level of service to our customers," said Chuck Platz, President of Basell North America. "We believe this is a creative and efficient way to move forward and expand our polypropylene product offering in an ultra-competitive industry."
Polypropylene is a versatile polyolefin plastic that has a wide performance range in the diverse and ever-expanding plastics industry and has a range of applications, including the automotive industry, fibers for baby diapers, films, rigid packaging containers, outdoor furniture, carpets and sanitary medical products.
ConocoPhillips is a major international integrated energy company with operations in some 49 countries. Headquartered in Houston, the company has assets of $75 billion, net proved reserves of 8.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), and daily production of 1.7 million BOE. More information about the company can be obtained at www.conocophillips.com.
In addition to its global leadership position in polypropylene, Basell develops, produces and markets polyethylene, advanced polyolefin materials, polyolefin catalysts and also develops and licenses polyolefin processes. With research and development centers in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Basell is committed to developing with its customers a shared agenda for bringing new products to market as quickly as possible. Basell, including its joint ventures, serves customers in more than 120 countries with materials produced in 18 countries. The company’s Internet address is www.basell.com.
For more information contact either Nick Nagurny of Basell at +1 302 996 6122 or nick.nagurny@basell.com or Mike Karlovich of ConocoPhillips at +1 908 523 6041.
