Neste Oil signs lubricant production agreement with Ashland

Neste Oil Corporation     
Press Release
21 November 2007 at 15.00 p.m. EET

Neste Oil has signed a lubricant production agreement with Ashland Nederland B.V., a subsidiary of Ashland Inc., to guarantee the continued production of Neste Oil lubricants when the company’s Laajasalo plant in Helsinki closes at the end of 2008. The City of Helsinki has zoned the area for housing and terminated the leases of companies operating in the area.

Neste Oil has discussed alternatives for continuing the production of its lubricants with a number of potential partners for the past three years.

“We believe that cooperation with Ashland will enhance the competitiveness of Neste Oil lubricants in the marketplace. Ashland has operations worldwide and a modern production facility at Dordrecht in the Netherlands that meets the quality and safety criteria we expect of our partners,” explains Vice President Esa Miettinen.

Ashland already produces its own Valvoline lubricants at the Dordrecht plant.

Statutory employee consultations concluded at Laajasalo

The statutory employee consultation process initiated with production, storage, plant services, and product management personnel at the Laajasalo site in September was completed on 21 November. The process covered around 45 Neste Oil employees. A third of these will transfer to the restructured lubricants organization or other positions within Neste Oil. Around 10 employees will retire. Discussions are under way with the remainder on their future employment, and Neste Oil’s aim is to place them elsewhere within the company.

Neste Oil Corporation
Osmo Kammonen
Senior Vice President, Communications

Further information: Vice President Esa Miettinen, Oil Retail, Neste Oil Corporation, tel. +358 (0)50 458 5788