PRESS RELEASE (18/08/2004)

Agreement for supply of natural gas by the Government of the Sultanate Oman to Oman Methanol Company LLC for its Sohar Methanol Project being set up in Sohar Industrial Port Area has been executed on 18th August 2004. H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Rumhy, Minister of Oil & Gas signed the agreement on behalf of the government and H.E. Dr. Omar Zawawi along with the other authorized signatories Dr. Axel Wippermann and Mr. Joseph M. Cassidy, signed on behalf of Oman Methanol Company.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Government officials and representatives of Oman Methanol Company and its shareholders.

This is the first Gas Supply Agreement executed by the Government for supply of natural gas to a private sector gas based industrial project in Sohar through the 32-inch gas pipeline built by Oman Gas Company from Fahud to Sohar. Oman Methanol Company will receive natural gas under the agreement for a period of 25 years.

The promoters of Oman Methanol Company are MAN Ferrostaal AG of Germany Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Limited from Trinidad & Tobago and Oman Methanol Holding Company. MAN FERROSTAAL AG and Oman Proman Contracting & Trading LLC, are building the Plant. Sohar methanol project is the first mega private sector industrial project being set up in Oman.

The Company has finalised all project agreements and expects to achieve financial close by the end of September 2004 (God willing) and the first methanol production by December 2006. The project with a total investment of about US Dollars Five Hundred Million will have a production capacity of 3000 tons per day. The plans are already being developed for a second methanol plant at the same site to double methanol production by end 2007.

A ten-year agreement for annual sale of about one million tons of methanol from the first methanol plant has also been executed on the same day between Oman Methanol Company and Helm AG of Germany.