Overhaul of Ethylene Cracker II

PKN ORLEN S.A. (“PKN ORLEN”), Central Europe’s largest downstream oil company, announces today that the planned overhaul of PKN ORLEN’s Ethylene Cracker II starts tomorrow. It is scheduled to last 35 days that is till 12th October 2001.

During the overhaul there will also be modernisation works carried out. They will include the exchange of the Olefins II elements: propylene compressor turbine and steam pipeline. New, more efficient appliances are part of the process that is scheduled to increase ethylene production capacities from present 360,000 tons to 660,000 tons in the year 2004.

The last overhaul of Olefins II took place in 1999. Since then the unit has worked without interruption. The present overhaul is accompanied by the simultaneous repairs of other, directly relevant units.

The scheduled overhaul starts also in Anwil S.A., a company in the PKN ORLEN Capital Group, which is the biggest outside consignee of ethylene from Olefins II in Plock. The majority of ethylene produced is used by PKN ORLEN in the production of a wide range of petrochemicals.

The overhaul works of Ethylene Cracker II and the production stoppage were anticipated in the plans for year 2001. They will not influence existing sales volume or supplies because PKN ORLEN has accumulated sufficient reserves of petrochemical products and will be able to meet envisaged demand during the overhaul.