Construction Contract Awarded for New Atofina MMP Unit in Texas

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Novus International Incorporated (Saint Louis, Missouri) with Atofina Chemical Incorporated (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) has awarded Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated (NYSE: JEC) (Pasadena, California) the contract on two units at Atofina's chemical complex in Beaumont, Texas. Jacobs' responsibilities include engineering, procurement, and construction of a 68,000 ton per year MMP (3-Methylthiopropionaldehyde) Unit.

Atofina will operate the new unit sending the additional MMP feedstock to Novus Chemical's Chocolate Bayou, Texas plant that produces Alimet Feed Supplement. Included in the expansion is a 36,000 ton per year Acrolein Unit. Acrolein is utilized in the production of MMP.

Site preparation for the new units is expected in early 2003 with mechanical kick-off set for the summer of 2003. Currently, Atofina and Jacobs are performing engineering for the project that could cost between $75 and $100 million.