Dow and Sadara Announce an Agreement to Focus on Growth Regions for PUR

MIDLAND, Mich. -- The Dow Chemical Company announced that an agreement is in place through which the Company will market and sell the majority of products produced by Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) Dows joint venture with Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

Dow will leverage its global marketing experience and world-class operations to bring Sadaras high-value performance plastics and specialty chemical products to market in growing regions, particularly geographies where Dow has strong brand recognition and well-established market channels that enable customer growth.

Combining Dows marketing leadership with Sadaras strategic, well-positioned location will strengthen Dows existing customer relationships and forge new ones in these fast-growing regions. In fact, nearly half the products Sadara offers will be available in expanding Asia Pacific markets; while the majority of the remainder will be sold in other key countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and India. Sadara itself will take the lead in bringing its products to market in certain Middle Eastern nations, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"This marketing agreement - like the Sadara joint venture as a whole - represents another significant step towards Dows ever-expanding global reach, advancing our transformation as we grow with customers locally and globally," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dows Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Dows strong brand, marketing and sales excellence and world-class operations, coupled with Sadaras strategic supply position, will enable Dow to meet customer demand and stimulate growth in attractive emerging regions for decades to come. This project - the largest of its kind ever built in a single phase - will literally transform our industry and the petrochemical sector in Saudi Arabia by creating an advanced manufacturing hub that provides a differentiated product slate from a competitive, low-cost position."

Dow will market and sell from several major product families produced by Sadaras state-of-the-art world-scale operations. These products will be manufactured utilizing several of Dows industry-leading technologies, and made to Dows stringent quality specifications.

"Sadaras product slate is targeted to technology-rich sectors like energy, transportation, electronics, consumer goods and infrastructure. These are industries where Dow has a global leadership position and can deliver value-added technology," said Pat Dawson, President, Dow Asia Pacific. "Sadara enables Dow to build stronger relationships with our customers, to grow faster with them, and to increase both our market reach and presence."

Sadara is constructing the complex, which will be comprised of 26 manufacturing units, and will possess flexible cracking capabilities and produce more than 3 million metric tons of high-value performance plastics and specialty chemical products.

Sadaras first production units will come on-line in 2015, and all units are expected to be up and running in 2016. Within a few years of becoming fully operational, Sadara is projected to deliver annual revenues of approximately $10 billion. The joint venture will also generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs through the complex and related investments in downstream value parks.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the worlds most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dows diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Companys more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 countries across the globe.