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2007-12-17 09:30:00 CET 2007-12-17 09:30:25 CET REGULATED INFORMATION Neste Oil - Corporate ActionNESTE OIL, TAKREER, AND OMV SIGN HEADS OF TERMS FOR BASE OIL PLANT IN ABU DHABINeste Oil of Finland, Takreer of Abu Dhabi, and the Austrian oil and gas group OMV are proceeding with their plans to form a joint venture company and build a plant to produce sulfur-free, Very High Viscosity Index (VHVI) Group III base oil at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The parties have signed the Heads of Terms agreement in Abu Dhabi, covering the basic principles for the design, construction, and operation of the facility and the commercial terms of the project. The joint-venture company will be 60% owned by Takreer and 20% by Neste Oil and OMV each. The planned facility will be capable of producing 500,000 tons a year of base oils used for blending top-tier lubricants. Feedstock for the base oil facility will be provided from Takreer's hydrocracker unit. Neste Oil will bring technology and production know-how and will initially be responsible for marketing the products. OMV will bring know-how in base oil blending and marketing experience. The Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of the project is expected to commence by the second quarter of 2008. The final investment decision will be made later, based on the investment cost estimates obtained during the FEED phase. Demand for high-performance, sulfur-free base oils is increasing globally due to their ability to meet current and future performance requirements and more stringent environmental standards. Takreer is a refining company with an overall crude and condensate processing capacity of about 500,000 barrels per day. With its fundamental strength in oil refining, Takreer is now working on expanding its activities in the downstream sector to identify and deploy products and process technologies that would provide a competitive edge. With a vision to become a leading diversified oil refining company, Takreer is now interested in expanding its product portfolio into the production of high-quality base oils. Neste Oil, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is refining and marketing company focused on advanced, clean traffic fuels with a strategy that prioritizes growing its refining and premium- quality biodiesel businesses. Neste Oil has a total refining capacity of approximately 250,000 barrels a day; and is an industry leader in manufacturing and marketing Very High Viscosity Index (VHVI) base oils under its Nexbase brand. OMV is the largest listed industrial company in Austria with more than 26 million metric tons of annual oil refining capacity and a retail network of more than 2,500 filling stations in 13 countries. OMV sells more than 14 BCM of gas a year. With the acquisition of a majority stake in Petrom of Romania, OMV has become the largest oil and gas group in Central Europe. OMV is active in refining and marketing in 13 countries, and in exploration and production in 20 countries and on five continents. The project combines the strengths of all three parties in the design, production, and marketing of high-performance base oils. Neste Oil's other project to increase base oil production in Bahrain is also progressing. Neste Oil Corporation Osmo Kammonen Senior Vice President Further information at Neste Oil Mr Kimmo Rahkamo, Executive Vice President, Specialty Products, tel. +358 50 458 4247 Mr Matti Lehmus, Vice President, Base Oils, tel. +358 50 458 4072 Neste Oil in brief Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company focused on advanced, clean traffic fuels, with a strategy that prioritizes growing its refining and premium-quality biodiesel businesses. Neste Oil's refineries are located at Porvoo and Naantali in Finland, and have a total refining capacity of approx. 250,000 bbl/d. The company employs around 4,800 people and its shares are listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. For further information, see www.nesteoil.com. |
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