BATON ROUGE, La., March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced today that it has entered into discussions with its Middle Eastern partner Ali & Sons Oilfield Supplies & Services Co. (ASOS) to construct a manufacturing facility for FCC catalysts and additives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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Abu Dhabi represents the ideal site for the proposed facility because it would allow Albemarle to meet rapidly growing regional demand for refinery catalyst solutions and would provide an unmatched security of supply for existing customers in the Middle East. The facility would manufacture Albemarle's value-added AFX® catalysts, which promote increased propylene yield from resid feedstocks.

This announcement follows Albemarle's successful delivery of catalysts for the startup of the FCC unit in Takreer's newly expanded Ruwais refinery.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a premier specialty chemicals company with leading positions in attractive end markets around the world. With a broad customer reach and diverse end markets, Albemarle develops, manufactures and markets technologically advanced and high value added products, including lithium and lithium compounds, bromine and derivatives, catalysts and surface treatment chemistries used in a wide range of applications including consumer electronics, flame retardants, metal processing, plastics, contemporary and alternative transportation vehicles, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, construction and custom chemistry services. Albemarle is focused on delivering differentiated, performance-based technologies that deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers. The Company employs approximately 6,900 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets it serves.

About Ali & Sons Oilfield Supplies and Services Co. LLC

Ali & Sons Oilfield Supplies & Services (ASOS), a subsidiary of Ali & Sons Holding LLC, has been proudly serving the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and its Group of Companies for over 35 years. The company is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and maintains a 20,000 square meter warehousing facility in the Musaffah industrial area, offering convenient access to its partners and customers operating in the Middle East.

ASOS specializes in providing state-of-the-art products and services and turnkey solutions to the refining, drilling, petrochemical, water and power sectors. With its diverse team of highly experienced professionals, ASOS also offers project management and consultancy services for the engineering, construction and inspection of large-scale industrial projects. Together with its global partners, ASOS excels in bringing the production of innovated, value-added solutions closer to the end user.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

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SOURCE Albemarle Corporation