In early January 2008, the Board of Directors of UNIPETROL approved two investment projects with expected value of CZK hundreds of million. These investments will expand the petrochemical product portfolio of UNIPETROL RPA with more types of monomers and will enable better utilization of ethylene unit´s products. The completion of both investment projects in UNIPETROL RPA's premises in Litvínov is scheduled for 2010.

The product portfolio will grow to include technical dicyclopentadiene and the non-hydrogenated C9 aromatic hydrocarbon fraction. Both products find extensive use primarily as monomers in many applications, mainly hydrocarbon resins. Resins are polymers that have been industrially manufactured for more than 90 years and belong to very important products of the chemical industry. They are included for example in paper, rubber, paints, adhesives, printing inks, floor covering, textiles, cartridges, electronics, tyres, concrete and many other products.

Both products will be produced on the basis of the proprietary processes that Unipetrol RPA developed in cooperation with the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague and the Inorganic Chemistry Research Institute in Ústí nad Labem (a member of the Unipetrol Group). The new production will use the existing equipment of discontinued processes such as tank sites, the control centre and filling stations to a maximum extent. The expected production capacity is 20,000 – 26,000 tonnes per year for the technical dicyclopentadiene and up to 40,000 tonnes for the non-hydrogenated C9 aromatic hydrocarbon fraction.

The selection process for the contractors of these investments shall be finished by the end of 2008.

In Prague on January 24, 2008

UNIPETROL, a.s.
Reg.Announc. No. 002/2008