Title: Sale of Qenos to ChemChina Date: 31st October 05 Qenos is pleased to announce that international chemical group China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) has signed a Heads of Agreement with the company’s shareholders, Orica and ExxonMobil, to purchase the Qenos business. The agreement is subject to required regulatory approvals in Australia and China, with settlement targeted to take place in early 2006. Commenting on the pending sale, Mr Ross McCann, Chief Executive Officer of Qenos, said: “ChemChina is a global chemical industry player and Qenos is a strategic acquisition that complements ChemChina’s global growth strategy and portfolio of chemical businesses. The acquisition provides a strong Australian platform for further business growth.” “Qenos is an attractive acquisition for ChemChina given its highly skilled workforce, technical expertise, strong customer base, logistics infrastructure and operational systems.” Mr McCann added: “The Qenos strategy remains the supply of polyethylene and services to meet the needs of the Australian polyethylene market and Qenos will continue to be run by local management. Qenos offers ChemChina an experienced management team and world-class systems in the areas of operational and safety, health and environmental standards.” ChemChina is a large government owned enterprise in China with a portfolio of chemical businesses. With sales of approximately A$9.6billion and employing over 100,000 people, ChemChina is one of the largest chemical companies in China. Qenos was formed in 1999 when Orica and ExxonMobil joined their petrochemical operations in Australia to form a stronger, more globally competitive business. Qenos is Australia’s sole polyethylene manufacturer focused on supplying the local market and has approximately 850 direct employees and A$800M annual revenue. With manufacturing sites in Victoria and New South Wales, Qenos adds value to Australian oil and gas reserves, through conversion into high value petrochemicals and plastics that are used as raw materials by hundreds of companies in the downstream Australian plastics conversion industry. The final products are used in a myriad of applications, including the key packaging, agriculture, automotive, water management, mining and waste management industries. Further information and details can be found on the ChemChina Profile.