SABIC and SINOPEC Corp sign heads of agreement

Notes and media contacts

Othman Al-Humaidi
General Manager, Corporate Communications

About SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is the largest public company in the Middle East, ranked by market capitalization (currently US$ 80 billion), and one of the world's 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol and fertilizers as well as the fourth largest polymer producer.

SABIC's profit rose to a record SR27bn ($7.2bn) in 2007, a 33% increase over 2006. Sales revenues for 2006 totalled SR86.3bn ($23bn), the highest revenues achieved by the company since its inception. Total assets stood at SR169bn at the end of 2006.

SABIC operates six interlinked strategic business units: Basic Chemicals, Intermediates, Specialty Products, Polymers, Fertilizers and Metals. The company has significant research resources and has dedicated Research and Technology centers in Riyadh, Geleen in the Netherlands, Houston USA and Vadodara in India. SABIC has more than 17,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC has two large production sites in Saudi Arabia - in Al-Jubail and in Yanbu - comprising 19 world-scale complexes. Some of these complexes are partnerships with multi-national joint venture partners such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Mitsubishi Chemicals. SABIC's overall production capacity has increased from 27 million metric tons in 2001 to 49.1 million metric tons of production in 2006.

SABIC's other global hubs are headquartered in Singapore for Asia Pacific with a sales office network and logistic hubs throughout the region; and in Sittard, the Netherlands, for Europe. In Europe, the company employs around 3,300 people, had a European sales office network, logistic hubs and three petrochemical manufacturing sites at Geleen (the Netherlands), Teeside (United Kingdom) and at Gelsenkirchen (Germany). SABIC Europe produces 2.5 million metric tons per annum of polyolefins and 3.3 million metric tons of basic chemicals.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

About Sinopec Corp.

Sinopec Corp. 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 products; producing, trading, transporting, distributing and marketing refined oil products; and producing and distributing chemical products. Based on 2006 turnover, Sinopec Corp. is the largest listed company in China. The Company is the largest crude oil and petrochemical company in China and Asia. It is also one of the largest producers and distributors of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and other major chemical products, in China and Asia.

For additional information about Sinopec Corp., please visit the Company's website at www.sinopec.com