Dow Awards Aker Kvaerner Engineering Contract For Two EO/EG Projects in China

ZOETERMEER, Netherlands and MIDLAND, Mich. -(July 17, 2006)-The Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corporation (UCCPTC), a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, has awarded Aker Kvaerner an engineering contract to assist in the development of process design packages and extended process design packages for two Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol (EO/EG) plants that will use the METEOR(TM) LEC EO/EG technology.

The plants will be built in the People’s Republic of China by subsidiaries of Sinopec under a license from UCCPTC. One project is at the Sinopec Tianjin one million tonne per annum (TPA) ethylene complex in the Dagang District of Tianjin, and the second is at Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company’s production facility in the port city of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.

The awarding of the contract comes on the heels of the July 5 announcement of a cooperation agreement signed between Dow and Aker Kvaerner for METEOR EO/EG technology. The work will be executed by a joint team working in two locations - the Union Carbide Technology Park in South Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.A., and Aker Kvaerner’s engineering office in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands.

Wim van der Zande, president of Aker Kvaerner’s AK Process business, explains, “Aker Kvaerner is pleased to be part of yet another technology transfer project for China. Aker Kvaerner and Dow have a long history of technology cooperation which has led to a highly successful model for project execution. Together with our extensive engineering experience in the Chinese market we look forward to the successful completion of these packages.”

“By leveraging Aker Kvaerner’s experience in producing engineering packages for licensees in China, Dow will be providing a high quality technology transfer and contributing to the successful completion of both Sinopec projects,” states Joseph Bromley, business director, Dow Licensing Technology, METEOR and LP OxoSM Technology.

Both the Sinopec Tianjin branch and Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company have recently received approval for one million TPA ethylene crackers. The Tianjin EO/EG plant will be able to produce up to 420,000 TPA of Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) product and 40,000 TPA of pure EO. Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company’s EO/EG plant is planned to produce up to 650,000 TPA of MEG product, and 100,000 TPA of pure EO.

The major use of ethylene glycol is in the manufacture of polyester fibers and resins. This includes polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is well known for its use in plastic bottles for soft drinks. Ethylene glycol also has a significant market as an antifreeze additive in the automobile industry.

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. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com. Dow Technology Licensing is a business unit of Dow that markets technologies owned by The Dow Chemical Company, Union Carbide Corporation and their subsidiaries.



About AKER KVÆRNER ASA
AKER KVÆRNER ASA, through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Aker Kvaerner”), is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions. The business within Aker Kvaerner comprises several industries, including Oil & Gas, Refining & Chemicals, Mining & Metals, Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology, Power Generation and Pulp & Paper. The Aker Kvaerner group is organised into two principal business streams, namely Oil & Gas and E&C, each consisting of a number of separate legal entities. Aker Kvaerner is used as the common brand/trademark for most of these entities. The parent company in the group is Aker Kværner ASA. Aker Kvaerner has aggregated annual revenues of approximately NOK 41.4 billion and employs approximately 21,000 people in more than 30 countries.

About AK Process
AK Process is a trading name of Aker Kvaerner Netherlands B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of AKER KVAERNER ASA and the legal entity entering into the cooperation agreement. AK Process serves the chemicals and polymers, refining and onshore oil & gas industries. It provides the full life cycle of a project from concept studies, through to design, engineering, project management, delivery of process technologies, procurement, construction and maintenance services. As a pure project execution/EPC specialist, AK Process can provide customers with strategic ’one-off’ services or full turnkey solutions under a single project management control. It works with its customers in the development of major technological innovations, having participated in the conceptualization and implementation of ideas, which are the foundation for world-class production facilities.

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(TM)Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow
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Wim van der Zande

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Aker Kvaerner

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