BASF SE : inge® UF technology in Ghana – First seawater desalination mega-project in West Africa

inge GmbH, a leading global provider of ultrafiltration technology, secured a major contract in Spain for realizing a large-scale desalination project in Ghana. The prestigious Spanish plant constructor Abeinsa EPC has been commissioned by Ghana's state-run Ghana Water Company Ltd. (GWCL) to build a seawater desalination plant producing drinking water for Ghana's capital Accra and the surrounding areas. Following a complex selection procedure, Abeinsa picked inge® as its preferred project partner to equip the plant with a total of 10 ultrafiltration lines as a pretreatment stage for reverse osmosis. inge® is offering an extended package for this project also including the complete central header pipe and valve units provided in collaboration with the subcontractor Bauer Water GmbH.

Drinking water is a scarce resource in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) which extends outwards from Ghana's capital city. To address this problem, the government has awarded a contract to build an ultra-modern seawater desalination plant featuring reverse osmosis in Nungua Township, some 12 kilometers from Accra. The plant is designed to produce 60,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day for approximately 500,000 people in the Teshie-Nungua region. To ensure the seawater desalination plant is supplied with pre-cleaned water of consistently high quality, the Spanish plant constructor Abeinsa EPC decided to use inge® ultrafiltration technology.

The project is a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement with a concession of 25 years. During this period, the company Befesa Desalination Developments Ghana Ltd. will operate the facility on behalf of Ghana's public water utility GWCL, which will be responsible for supplying the water to consumers. At the end of the concession period, the ownership of the plant will be transferred to the public water utility - one of the key reasons why the client has insisted on top-quality UF technology, consulting and engineering services. The client specifically requested an expanded package of services from inge® for this project:

"For this major project, inge® will not only provide its high-performance, pressure-optimized ultrafiltration racks with their patented Multibore® membrane fibers, but also an expanded package including the central header pipe and valve units for the ten UF lines, furthermore including the support for the planning and installation stages. By offering this comprehensive, top-quality package, we successfully convinced the client that we are the best partner," says inge® CEO Bruno Steis. "We truly stood out as a turnkey supplier of complete ultrafiltration systems for large-scale plants." The ultrafiltration lines will feature more than 1,400 dizzer® XL modules, and the complete UF system is designed to supply 135,000 cubic meters per day of pre-filtered water to the reverse osmosis stage. The modules and rack components will be delivered to Ghana by mid-year and installed by year's end. The seawater desalination plant is scheduled to start operation in early 2014. "We are proud that we've been awarded a contract for a project where the client sets such high standards for product quality, package scope and engineering services," says Ralf Krüger, the sales manager who is responsible for the project, summing up an undeniable success story for inge®.

About inge GmbH

inge GmbH, based in Greifenberg, Germany is a world's leading provider of ultrafiltration technology, a membrane process used to treat drinking water, process water, wastewater and sea water.

With a global reach enhanced by its network of partners, the company has completed numerous reference projects around the globe featuring its cutting-edge technology. In August 2011, inge® became part of the Water Solutions business of BASF, the world's leading chemical company.

Its range of products include highly-efficient ultrafiltration modules and cost-effective, space-saving rack designs as the core components of water treatment plants, rounded off by the superb technical support it provides to its customers.

All the company's products are based on the in-house development of its patented Multibore® membrane technology, providing the top-quality standards for which German-made goods are known. The extremely small-pore filters of the Multibore® membrane reliably intercept not only particles, but also microorganisms such as bacteria or even viruses, thereby providing a dependable source of clean water. Deployment of the inge® technology also offers significant advantages over conventional water treatment methods, such as rapid and easy module installation and stable, highly resilient membranes. This makes planning a water treatment facility much simpler, enabling customers to achieve low-cost installation and operation. And all this comes with a guarantee of long-lasting reliability. For more information about inge GmbH please click herewww.inge.ag.

About BASF

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of €72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet atwww.basf.com.

About BASF Water, Oilfield and Mining Solutions

BASF offers a wide range of solutions and products for the water-, oilfield- and mining industry. The product range of global water solutions include products used in the key processes of industrial and municipal water treatment. The business is a leading supplier of products to clarify the raw water used for the production of drinking water, treating the waste water stream and reducing sludge. Within our global oilfield solutions business, we help the oilfield service industry make efficient formulations. Our portfolio comprises products for the drilling and completion of oil wells as well as chemicals for continuous and cost efficient production of valuable oil and gas resources. We develop next generation of surfactants and polymers designed to support enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations by means of chemical injection. Global mining solutions offer an extensive range of mineral processing reagents. Our strengths are in solid/liquid separation and solvent extraction; we also offer reagents for flotation, dispersing, agglomerating and others. Further information can be found at:

www.watersolutions.basf.com

www.basf.com/oilfieldsolutions

www.basf.com/miningsolutions