Borden Chemicals and Plastics to temporarily idle natural gas based raw material facilities

12/26/2000 Borden Chemicals and Plastics LP announced today that it will temporarily idle its acetylene production unit and its acetylene-based vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) production unit in Geismar, LA, beginning the first of the year.

BCP cited the rapidly escalating natural gas prices, the primary raw material for these facilities, as the reason for the decision. The Partnership has been running these units at reduced rates in December. VCM is the principal raw material used in manufacturing PVC resins.

The Partnership will continue to produce VCM for its PVC resin production at its 650-million pound ethylene-based VCM plant in Geismar. Ethylene and chlorine, not natural gas, constitute the principal feedstocks used in this production unit.

Mark J. Schneider, president and chief executive officer, said the production of acetylene-based VCM units would resume when natural gas prices return to economically acceptable levels.

Schneider stated that idling the facilities is necessary to reduce the Partnership's exposure to natural gas. Unprecedented price swings have seen December's natural gas pricing exceed $6.00 per mmBTU, and January and February 2001 contracts have traded in excess of $9.00 per mmBTU. Natural gas will be consumed only as energy under this operating mode, and will result in gas purchases that will be reduced by approximately 85% from historical levels.

Schneider stated that he does not expect this move to affect the Partnership's ability to meet current customer demand for PVC resin sales requirements. The Partnership expects to fulfill its raw material requirements through internal production and external purchases.

Borden Chemicals and Plastics LP operates facilities located in Geismar and Addis, LA, and Illiopolis, IL. BCP Management, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Borden, Inc., has a 2 percent interest and serves as general partner. Publicly traded units account for the remaining 98 percent ownership.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 27, 2000