Acquisition

BP PLC
2 May 2001


BP completes acquisition of Bayer's

stake in ErdOElchemie

BP and Bayer today announced the completion of BP's purchase of Bayer's 50 per
cent shareholding in the companies' German petrochemical joint venture,
Erdoelchemie GmbH.

Completion of the deal makes Erdoelchemie a wholly-owned subsidiary of BP's
German operating company, Deutsche BP AG. Financial details of the transaction
have not been disclosed.

Byron Grote, chief executive of BP's chemicals businesses, said: 'The
completion of this deal significantly strengthens our core chemicals
businesses in Europe and is an important step in the ongoing strategic
repositioning of our petrochemicals portfolio.'

Erdoelchemie's petrochemical plant is located on the Rhine at
Cologne-Worringen, near Cologne. The site employs some 2,200 staff and
produces around 4.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals annually. In recent years
BP and Bayer have sanctioned a number of significant expansions at
Erdoelchemie, most recently a 200,000 tonnes per year ethylene cracker
expansion expected on stream in June 2002. This investment programme is
expected to continue under BP's ownership.

The completion of this acquisition reinforces BP's European and global
positions in polyethylene, acrylonitrile, aromatics, and ethylene oxide and
its derivatives. Erdoelchemie will account for approximately 18 per cent of
BP's total worldwide petrochemical capacity.

A priority for BP will now be the smooth integration of Erdoelchemie with the
rest of  BP's chemicals businesses. Rudy Blyweert, managing director of
Erdoelchemie GmbH, said: 'EC is a well run site with skilled employees - their
knowledge and expertise will be a valuable addition to BP's already
significant knowledge base.'

BP and Bayer will continue to have significant business relationships at
Erdoelchemie, with BP supplying a number of important chemical feedstocks to
Bayer's adjacent Dormagen site, and Bayer providing a number of services to
the Erdoelchemie site.



More...



Notes to editors:


*     Erdoelchemie was founded by BP and Bayer in 1957 as a
50-50 joint venture company. With total annual production of approximately 4.4
million tonnes of petrochemicals, its main products are: ethylene (950,000
tonnes per annum), propylene (600,000 tpa), polyethylene (550,000 tpa),
ethylene oxide (260,000 tpa), acrylonitrile (280,000 tpa) and butadiene
(220,000 tpa).


*     The completion of the purchase of Erdoelchemie is an
important step in the strategic repositioning of BP's chemicals portfolio. In
December 2000, a deal with Solvay was announced that will significantly
strengthen BP's polypropylene and high density polyethylene businesses and
transfer BP's engineering polymers business to Solvay. Completion of the deal
is anticipated in mid-2001. In January 2001, BP announced that it intended to
divest its plastic fabrications and fabrics and fibres businesses in the
course of 2001.


*     BP's chemicals businesses manufacture and market a
wide range of petrochemicals, intermediates, polymers and specialities. In
2000, they had a turnover of $11.2 billion, selling over 22 million tonnes of
products worldwide.


Further enquiries:


David Nicholas, BP press office, London: [phone]
Claudia Braun, Deutsche BP press office, Hamburg: [phone]
Olaf Hultsch, Erdoelchemie, Cologne-Worringen: [phone]



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