Huntsman announces temporary shutdown of PO/MTBE facility

The Woodlands, TX—Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) today announced that a subsidiary has temporarily shut down its Port Neches, Texas PO/MTBE manufacturing facility for unscheduled maintenance and repairs. The facility has an annual production capacity of 525 million pounds of PO, 260 million gallons of MTBE and 145 million pounds of propylene glycol. A separate Huntsman subsidiary’s MTBE extraction unit, also located in Port Neches, Texas, with annual production capacity of 160 million gallons, remains operational.

Peter Huntsman, President and CEO, said, “Safety is our top priority. While we regret the commercial and financial impact, we believe a temporary shutdown is necessary to ensure that this facility continues to operate in a safe manner. We are working very closely with our customers to limit the impact on their operations.”

Huntsman expects the shutdown to last for approximately 48 days. Huntsman does not expect to incur significant additional expenses in connection with the shutdown; however, Huntsman expects the shutdown to negatively impact contribution margins in the Polyurethanes and Performance Products segments by approximately $30 million in the third quarter. Huntsman has issued force majeure notices to customers currently affected by the shutdown.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and commodity chemicals. Its operating companies manufacture basic products for a variety of global industries including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, textiles, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging. Originally known for pioneering innovations in packaging, and later, rapid and integrated growth in petrochemicals, Huntsman today has 11,300 employees, 57 operations in 22 countries, and had 2004 revenues of $11.5 billion.

Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations. The forward-looking statements in this release are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in the Huntsman companies’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Significant risks and uncertainties may relate to, but are not limited to, financial, economic, competitive, environmental, political, legal, regulatory and technological factors. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the company’s expectations will be realized. The company assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.