Disposal

BP PLC
09 October 2003

October 9, 2003



BP AGREES TO SELL EUROPEAN SPECIAL PRODUCTS BUSINESS TO H&R WASAG AG



BP and H&R WASAG AG announced today that they have reached agreement in
principle for H&R WASAG to purchase BP's European Special Products business,
including the Neuhof base oil refinery in Hamburg, Germany.



Subject to a number of approvals and after appropriate employee consultation, H&
R WASAG will acquire BP's entire special products business in Europe which
produces and markets specialist products such as waxes, process oils and rubber
additives.  This comprises the 5,000 barrels a day capacity specialist base oil
refinery at Neuhof and part of the associated blending facilities; two UK
manufacturing plants at Chorley, Lancashire and Tipton, West Midlands; a
manufacturing plant near Maastricht, the Netherlands; and marketing operations
in Spain, Portugal, Benelux, Germany, Eastern and Northern Europe and the UK.



In addition BP will supply H&R WASAG with 200,000 tonnes of special products a
year from the Coryton refinery in the UK.



The two parties said that they hoped to complete the transaction early next year
and that they did not anticipate any job losses as a result.



Notes to Editors:



  • H&R WASAG is a speciality chemicals group listed on the Frankfurt stock
    exchange.  It is based in Salzbergen where it already operates a specialist
    refinery producing 300,000 tonnes per annum
  • The book value of the assets involved in the transaction is $30 million
  • The deal does not include BP's shareholding in the Spanish Lubrisur joint
    venture or the Neuhof North blending plant which will continue to be core to
    BP's automotove, industrial and commercial lubricants business.






                      This information is provided by RNS
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