Basell purchases cracker from ROG

2 January 2007 – Basell has purchased a cracker from Ruhr Oel GmbH at the Mьnchsmьnster petrochemicals site in Germany.

The purchase, which has been approved by the European Commission, will secure Basell’s supply of ethylene for its new HDPE plant in Mьnchsmьnster.

“Competitive feedstock is a defining factor in our industry and the cracker in Mьnchsmьnster further fortifies our PE business in Europe,” said Volker Trautz, president and ceo of Basell.

Scheduled to start up in early 2009, the new HDPE plant will have an initial capacity of 120,000tpa, with the potential to be expanded by a further 30,000tpa.

ROG is a joint venture between Deutsche BP and PdVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company.