SINOPEC To Build Two Monoethylene Glycol Plants Based on METEOR™ EO/EG Process Technology Licensed Through Dow

Midland, MI - April 19, 2006, Dow Technology Licensing, a business group of The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated affiliates (Dow), today announced that China Petrochemical International Company Limited (a fully owned subsidiary of SINOPEC) has agreed to license METEOR™ LEC EO/EG process technology from Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corporation, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, to build plants for SINOPEC Tianjin Branch and Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company, Ltd.

SINOPEC Tianjin Branch will build a 420 KTA monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant as part of its 1 million MTPA ethylene cracker facility located in the Bohai Gulf, the closest seaport to Beijing. Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company, Ltd. will build a 650 KTA MEG plant located in the southern region of mainland China.

“METEOR EO/EG process technology is unique compared to other technologies, both because of the simplicity of its plant design and because of its EO catalyst, which provides the rare combination of high efficiency and activity. China represents a tremendous growth opportunity for Dow and its customers and we are very pleased that SINOPEC has chosen METEOR EO/EG process technology to build its new monoethylene glycol plants,” said Dr. Molly Peifang Zhang, vice president of Dow Technology Licensing.

“In addition to this agreement with SINOPEC, Dow has licensed and built three METEOR EO/EG process technology plants through joint venture agreements. The reputation of METEOR EO/EG plants for best-in-industry raw material efficiency coupled with excellent capital efficiency and operability influenced SINOPEC’s decision to license this technology. The LEC version of the technology is designed to satisfy SINOPEC’s drive to lower energy consumption,” said Joe Bromley, business director, Licensing and Catalyst, METEOR and LP OxoSM Technology.

METEOR EO/EG process technology has a simpler design than other EO/EG technologies, resulting in significant savings for the company’s licensees. Compared with other plant technologies, METEOR EO/EG process technology reduces equipment requirements and overall plot plan size, dramatically improves raw material utilization and requires less start-up capital. The simplicity of the METEOR process provides optimal reliability and ease of operation and maintenance.

About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.

About SINOPEC
SINOPEC is the first Chinese company that has been listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai. The Company is an integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. The principal operations of Sinopec Corp. and its subsidiaries include: exploring, developing, producing and trading crude oil and natural gas; processing crude oil into refined oil products; producing, trading, transporting, distributing and marketing refined oil products; and producing and distributing chemical products. Based on 2005 turnover, SINOPEC is the largest listed company in China. The Company is one of the largest crude oil and petrochemical companies in China and Asia. It is also one of the largest gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and other major chemical products producers and distributors in China and Asia.

®™* Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow

Contact Information

Becky Evans

The Dow Chemical Company

Contact via E-mail