Nynas to take over Harburg base oil plant in Germany from Shell - Thirty percent production capacity increase of specialty oils

Stockholm, December 12,  2011 – Nynas, one of the global technical leaders in specialty oils, announced today that the company has entered into an agreement with Shell to take over full control and responsibility for the Harburg base oil manufacturing plant and some associated refining facilities of the Harburg refinery in Hamburg, Germany.

The agreement is subject to European Commission regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions.

The new production plant will be a core site for Nynas with an annual production of specialty oils by up to 330,000 tons. This represents a thirty percent increase in the company’s production of specialty oils. With the strategic take-over of the Harburg production facilities Nynas will grow with approximately 220 staff members over the next three years.

“This is an important step forward in Nynas’ strategy to grow. It will allow us to quickly meet the growing demand from our customers globally,” says Staffan Lennström, president of Nynas. “The Harburg refinery will continue to produce as today but will over the next 24 months be converted into a stand-alone specialty oil refinery. A new hydrogen unit and an extensive conversion programme will transform the premises into a world class stand-alone Naphthenic Specialty Products refinery”.

“This agreement will bring increased volumes of all products in our current specialty oils portfolio as well as new interesting products such as medical white oils,” says Per Dahlstedt, Vice President Naphthenics at Nynas.

The take-over is based on a 25-year lease agreement for the Harburg base oil manufacturing plant and some associated refining facilities. The take-over by Nynas comprises two phases.

In phase 1, after European Commission clearance, implementation and completion, the long-term lease agreement will come into effect. At this stage Nynas will take over operation of the base oil unit and associated refining facilities, i.e. bitumen assets, tank farms and jetties on the southern part. Approximately 90 people will be employed by Nynas from the start of phase 1.

In preparation for phase 2, a hydrogen production unit will be built and operated, by a third party supplier. Nynas will modify units for further speciality oils production on the northern part in cooperation with Shell.

In phase 2, around mid-2014, Nynas will start to operate the modified and now self-sustained and enhanced specialty oils refinery on the southern and northern part. At this stage, it is expected that approximately another 130 people will be employed by Nynas.

Nynas will not take over any customers, sales or marketing assets from Shell with this agreement.

Nynas is a global technical leader and developer of premium specialty oils. The company is well positioned to grow with the market, strengthen its current business lines and explore future opportunities for sustainable use of oil. During recent years, Nynas has opened sales offices and distribution terminals in fast growing markets such as China, South Korea, India, Russia and several countries in Latin America.

Today, Nynas is a leading partner in areas such as transformer oils for the world’s electrical networks. The company is also taking advantage of the rapidly increasing demand for environmentally sound oils for tyre production. In Western Europe, Nynas is one of the leading suppliers of bitumen for asphalt production.

For further information please contact:

Hans Östlin, Communications Director, Nynas AB, e-mail: hans.ostlin@nynas.com

tel: +46 (0) 708 93 19 75

Staffan Ceder, Head of Marketing Communications Naphthenics, Nynas AB,

e-mail: staffan.ceder@nynas.com, tel: +46 (0) 730 87 12 00

Learn more about Nynas at www.nynas.com

More about Nynas

Nynas’ business is specialised oil applications – using oil to create sustainable value. Within it’s field of specialisation, Nynas is a global technical partner providing customers with a wide range of products for many demanding applications.

Nynas has around 860 employees and maintains production facilities in Europe, North and South America and have offices in more than 30 countries. Together with an effective distribution system this generates a EUR 2 billion turnover and history of stable growth.

Nynas is a widely recognized brand and a leader in its key markets – the developer and global technical leader of the premium specialty oils market and one of Europe’s leading supplier of high quality bitumen.

Nynas produces specialty oil for four main segments worldwide

Transformer oils for cooling of transformers are needed as the people in China and India get increasing access to electricity, as well as when electrical grids are modernized to meet the energy challenges in the Western worldProcess oils used in rubber, adhesives and printing inkBase oils for metalworking and industrial lubricants also are needed as millions of people in the developing economies increasingly get access to vehicles and other industrial goodsTyre oil deliveries to the tyre industry will be increasing over the next few years. Nynas’ tyre oils are needed to provide environmentally sound solutions for tyre manufactures as they are moving away from aromatic extracts

For bitumen, the focus is on Europe

Nynas is a leading and growing bitumen specialist company in Europe and the main markets are in the Nordic countries, UK and northern continental Europe. Nynas’ focus is on specialty products for the road industry. Nynas’ technology also allows for the production of cold paving and low noise roads. Through the extensive depot network, Nynas provides its customers with bitumen wherever and whenever needed.