Singapore, 10 July 2015 – Solvay today inaugurated a newly expanded Oil & Gas lab in its world-class Singapore Research & Innovation Centre. The dedicated lab space, team and resources will enable Solvay’s Novecare global business unit to internationalize its oil & gas business to serve its regional customers looking to develop in the segments of production, cementing and stimulation, especially in fast growing countries such as China, Malaysia and Australia, among others.

The new lab showcases state-of-the art equipment and will focus on leading innovation and product development projects for customers in Asia Pacific. It will provide comprehensive solutions for cementing, stimulation and production applications, together with a dedicated team working on Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Solutions. This is done in collaboration with Solvay’s global teams and strategic partners.

Employing its successful specialty formulation model, Solvay can now quickly develop and produce tailor-made chemicals and solutions to fit the unique geological conditions of local shale formations. As today’s leading provider of Oil & Gas solutions in North America, Solvay Novecare now offers the industry’s broadest and deepest product portfolio serving cementing, stimulation and production activities.

“We want to be close to our customers and continue the momentum to internationalize our oil and gas portfolio and formulated solutions. With high regional demand for oilfield chemicals, this expansion provides our customers close proximity to a partner with comprehensive solutions and custom formulations,” explained Emmanuel Butstraen, Solvay Novecare President.

For example, China has the capability to generate substantial energy from shale and other alternative plays, helping to reduce its reliance on coal. However, the geology and the scarcity of water make it a difficult challenge. With the newly expanded lab unit, Solvay Novecare can now work with customers to develop tailor-made surfactant and rheology solutions that operate in high temperatures and in high salinity fluids, greatly reducing fresh water usage and helping to unlock energy opportunities in the growing Asian market.

The lab expansion coincides with Solvay’s announcement of the inauguration of its alkoxylation plant in Singapore, the largest facility of its kind in Asia. The “on-pipe” investment will help meet that demand, complementing existing India and China facilities and joining Solvay Novecare’s seven other alkoxylation plants in Europe and North America. Located in the world-class integrated petrochemical hub of Jurong Island, the plant receives a key raw material, ethylene oxide via a dedicated pipeline, and fatty oleochemicals from nearby countries, providing a safe and sustainable source of supply for the near and long term.

Solvay Novecare is a worldwide leader in specialty surfactants and a major player in polymers, amines, guar, and phosphorusderivatives. Solvay Novecare engineers and develops formulations that provide consumer products and state-of-the-art industrialapplications with specific functional qualities designed to modify fluid behavior and deliver cleansing, dispersal, gelling, moisturizing, penetrating, softening or texturizing properties. These formulations are used in shampoos, detergents, paints and lubricants as well as in crop protection, mining and energy production and stimulation. Novecare, which boasts a worldwide network of 37 manufacturing sites and nine R&D centers, has become the preferred partner of its customers in rapidly growing economies andleverages an innovation platform based on sustainable solutions.

As an international chemical group, SOLVAY assists industries in finding and implementing ever more responsible and value-creating solutions. Solvay generates 90% of its net sales in activities where it is among the world's top three players. It serves many markets, varying from energy and the environment to automotive and aerospace or electricity and electronics, with one goal: to raise the performance of its clients and improve society's quality of life. The group is headquartered in Brussels, employs about 26,000 people in 52 countries and generated 10.2 billion euros in net sales in 2014. Solvay SA (SOLB.BE) is listed on EURONEXT in Brussels and Paris (Bloomberg: SOLB:BB - Reuters: SOLB.BR)