KBC.L Regulatory News (KBC)

22 Nov 2005 07:01

KBC Advanced Technologies plc22 November 2005 22 November 2005 KBC ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES PLC ("KBC" or "the Company") AWARD OF $11M CONTRACT BY CHINA PETROLEUM AND CHEMICAL CORPORATION ("SINOPEC") London, UK, and Houston, Texas, USA, 22 November 2005. KBC, a leading independent process engineering consulting group, announced on 2September 2005 that it was in discussions which may lead to the award of a majorconsultancy and software contract. The Board is now pleased to announce that KBChas been awarded one of its largest ever consulting contracts by SINOPEC, China's largest refiner, for services at their Zhenhai and Yanshan refining andpetrochemical facilities. The contract has a value of in excess of $11m over a 30-month period, commencingimmediately. The contract will include KBC consulting in all areas ofoperations, incorporating programs in yield and energy improvement, operationsplanning, as well as equipment reliability and maintenance. As an integral partof this project SINOPEC will licence KBC's proprietary simulation software,Petro-SIM(TM), as well as a full range of ProfimaticsTM process unit models foruse at Zhenhai and Yanshan. This contract further enhances KBC's relationship with SINOPEC, and builds onthe award, earlier this month, of a contract for the use of KBC's proprietaryDeepcut vacuum distillation technology for SINOPEC's grassroots Qingdao refinerycomplex. George Bright, KBC's Chief Operating Officer, commented: "We are delighted that SINOPEC have awarded this prestigious contract to KBC. Wewill be working in full partnership with SINOPEC and both parties are lookingforward to achieving significant operating improvement through theimplementation of KBC's best practices program". - ends - KBC Advanced Technologies plc 01932 236314Peter Close, Chief ExecutiveNicholas Stone, Finance Director Arden Partners Limited 020 7398 1632Richard Day Weber Shandwick Square Mile 020 7067 0700James Chandler/Yvonne Alexander About SINOPEC: (NYSE, SNP; LSE, SNP; HKSE, 386; SSE 600028)China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec Corp.") is an integratedenergy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations,headquartered in Beijing. Its major physical assets are located in South EastChina (its principal market), an area that has experienced the highest economicgrowth in China. The principal operations of Sinopec Corp. and its subsidiariesinclude: exploring, developing, producing and trading crude oil and natural gas,processing crude oil into refined oil products: producing, trading, transportingdistributing and marketing refined oil products and producing and distributingchemical products. Based on 2004 turnover, Sinopec Corp. is the largest listedcompany in China. The Company is one of the largest petroleum and petrochemicalcompanies in China and Asia. It is also one of the largest gasoline, diesel andjet fuel and other major chemical product producers and distributors in Chinaand Asia. About KBC: (LSE:KBC)KBC Advanced Technologies Inc, a leading independent process engineeringconsultancy, delivers improved profitability through consulting services andpractical solutions to owners and operators in the oil refining, petrochemicaland processing industries worldwide. KBC provides process consulting, strategicplanning advice, petroleum and chemical price forecasting, economic studies, andcapital project services to help clients find the most cost- effective way toachieve their short- and long-term objectives. KBC analyzes plant operations andmanagement systems, recommends changes for material and measurable improvementsin profitability, and provides implementation services to assist clients inrealizing these improvements. In carrying out this work, KBC makes extensive useof Petro-SIM its proprietary refinery-wide simulation and process modeling technology. Formed in 1979, KBC has principal offices in the UK, USA, Singapore, Japan, Russia, and the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.kbcat.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange