12 September 2009

Force Majeure Declaration - Update 3

As announced on 16 July 2009, INEOS ChlorVinyls is currently in Force Majeure with respect to supplies of VCM and S-PVC from several of our production plants across Europe.

By way of context, on the evening of 15 July a severe thunderstorm caused a major power failure at our Rafnes Site in Norway. This was significant enough to cause our VCM plant to shut down, and has resulted in major problems restarting vital process equipment.

The VCM plant at Rafnes has been operating at a reduced rate since the re-start. We have reviewed the scope and timing of our planned shutdown, and concluded it will go as planned with only minor adjustments. We are however delaying the planned PVC shutdown at Porsgrunn, Norway, in order to increase PVC production.

The rest of our system is now operating at planned levels.

Having reviewed the consequences this unplanned and unforeseen event has had on our delivery capabilities, we are now in a position to lift the Force Majeure from 1 October 2009.

Depending on grade and location, we may still have some minor delivery issues into October, but we expect that we will be able to manage that in close co-operation with the customers this will affect.

We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences that this event has caused you, and appreciate your patience during this difficult period.

For further information please contact:

Geir Tuft
Business Manager VCM/PVC, INEOS ChlorVinyls
Phone: +47 22 53 24 82
Mobile: +47 915 18 114