PRESS RELEASE - 2008 February 12th

Pétromont and Company, Limited Partnership announced today the interruption of its operations for an undetermined period. Pétromont shall proceed to suspend its operations on April 30, 2008.

This difficult context is the result of several factors, including the strong Canadian dollar and persistent difficulty in obtaining petroleum-based feedstock at competitive prices. These factors have had a major impact on the Company’s profitability, and in light of the equally unfavourable conditions affecting the petrochemical sector across North America, Pétromont has no choice but to suspend its operations.

The petrochemical facilities will be kept intact in the event that the market conditions change or an expression of outside interest is received.

The Company's senior management is sensitive to, and will assist in dealing with the adverse impacts of this decision as well as the uncertainty and anxiety for employees and their families.

Pétromont is a major Québec petrochemical company with average annual sales of $750 million. It operates two plants in the Montréal region. The first, in Varennes, manufactures basic petrochemicals, while the plant in Montréal East produces polyethylene resins sold mainly on the North American markets. 

Pétromont is a limited partnership owned equally by Dow Chemical Canada Inc. and the Société générale de financement du Québec.

For information:

Louis A. Rail

(514) 650-8506

Pétromont is a major petrochemical company with average annual sales of about $500 million. It manufactures high-density polyethylene and basic petrochemicals (olefins) which are sold throughout the world, primarily to North American markets.

Established in 1980, Pétromont is a Canadian limited partnership equally owned by Dow Chemical Canada Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and by Éthylec Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Société générale de financement du Québec.

With its head office in Varennes, in the Greater Montréal area, Pétromont is strategically located in the Québec petrochemical industry. There are approximately 450 highly-qualified employees working at its two plants in Montréal East and Varennes.

NEWS

ISO 9001-2000
July 2002– Pétromont Quality System has been registered to the new ISO 9001-2000 standard. The deadline to upgrade quality systems according to the standard new version is December 14, 2003.

Certificate of Registration covers the UNIPOL® Polyethylene production unit and the Ethylene and Hydrocarbons production units, including Propane Resale operations.

The HARP Award
Kansas City Southern Railway has recently  announced that Pétromont  is a recipient of the HARP award ( Hazardous Accidental Release Prevention) for its contribution to the safe transportation of hazardous materials on KCS in 2001. This is the first year of the HARP award and Pétromont is amongst its first chemical shippers to be recognized. KCS is a partner in Responsible care in the United States.