CPI Consulting Associates Issues Company Analysis Report for the Chemical Operations of Borealis.

Business Editors

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2003

CPI Consulting Associates, Inc. announced today that it has published a detailed report on Borealis' global operations as part of its Chemical Industry Analysis (CIA) Program, Third Edition.

This 140-page report includes a detailed company analysis examining strategic directions, financial overviews, business operations/positions, manufacturing site descriptions and product material balances for Borealis and its 10 subsidiaries and joint ventures involved in the chemical industry, as well as global overviews and analyses of key products and business areas pertinent to Borealis' operations.

Borealis was formed in March 1994 from the petrochemical and polyolefins businesses of Neste Oy and Statoil. The joint venture established its headquarters in Lyngby, Denmark and had manufacturing operations in Finland, Norway, Portugal, Belgium and Sweden. In early 1998, PCD Polymere with facilities in Austria and Germany was acquired from OMV, making Borealis the fourth largest polyolefins producer in the world. Neste Oy sold its 50 percent interest at that time in equal shares to OMV and IPIC of Abu Dhabi. In 2000, Borealis established an olefins compounding joint venture in Brazil with OPP Petroquimica. Then in late 2001, the Borouge joint venture with ADNOC in Abu Dhabi started up operations involving an olefins cracker and two LLDPE/HDPE units based on Borealis' BORSTAR technology.

At present, Borealis has a reasonable, although not totally independent position in the feedstocks it requires for its polyolefins business, owning and operating or joint venturing several olefins crackers in Europe and the new complex in the Middle East. The company is currently able to internally provide about two-thirds of its ethylene/propylene needs, and is working on balancing its feedstock position even further over the next few years. Downstream, the company has considerable compounding capability in Europe, one facility in the United States and the joint venture in South America. In addition, the company has a limited position in steam cracker derivatives including benzene, cumene, phenol, butadiene, isobutylene and MTBE. The company also has a favorable position in polyolefins technology, using its BORSTAR process for several internal projects and licensing the technology to Sinopec for a large facility in China.

The Chemical Industry Analysis Program is an on-going multiple subscriber service aimed at analyzing the structure, dynamics, competition and strategic issues of global and regional chemical industry participants. The Third Edition of the CIA Program analyzes the manufacturing operations, business operations/positions, and global overviews/analyses of key products and business areas for 60 chemical producers in three phases.

CPI Consulting Associates

CPI Consulting Associates is an international consulting organization focused on the energy, chemical and allied products industries. The complementary functional skills of the Associates encompass market analysis, technical and economic evaluations, financial analysis and strategy formulation, and industry and product expertise. These skills provide a valuable background for assisting companies in identifying opportunities for future growth. Recommendations and conclusions based on comprehensive analyses are the foundation of CPI Consulting's activities.

For further information, or to receive a prospectus detailing cost and scope, please visit http://www.cpiconsulting.com or contact: CPI Consulting Associates, Inc. -- 914/579-0010 or e-mail: [e-mail].