Keyuan Petrochemicals Announces Share Buyback Plan

NINGBO, China, Sept. 18, 2012

"We have a strong belief in our growth and the fundamental strength of our business model as our first half 2012 revenue benefitted from solid customer demand and the improvement of production efficiency," declared Mr. Chunfeng Tao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc. "We believe Keyuan's core earnings potential will continue to improve with engagement in Research Institutes, a series of initiatives on major projects and our SBS facility ramping into commercial production and that our stock represents an attractive value."

The timing and amount of any shares repurchased will be determined by the company's management based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors. Repurchases may also be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which would permit shares to be repurchased when the company might otherwise be precluded from doing so under insider trading laws. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Any repurchased shares will be available for use in connection with its stock plans and for other corporate purposes.

Keyuan will fund the share repurchases from cash on hand. As of June 30, 2012, the company had approximately $250 million of cash and equivalents and approximately 58 million shares of common stock and 5.33 million shares of Series B Preferred stock outstanding.

About Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc.

Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc., established in 2007 and operating through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Keyuan Plastics, Co. Ltd., is located in Ningbo, China and is a leading independent manufacturer and supplier of various petrochemical products. Having commenced production in October 2010, Keyuan's operations include an annual petrochemical manufacturing design capacity of 720,000 MT for a variety of petrochemical products, with facilities for the storage and loading of raw materials and finished goods, and a technology that supports the manufacturing process with low raw material costs and high utilization and yields. In order to meet increasing market demand, Keyuan plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to include a SBS production facility which was completed in September 2011. One SBS production line began commercial production in December 2011 and the second line began commercial production in August, 2012.  The Company plans to add additional storage capacity, a raw material pre-treatment facility, an asphalt production facility, and an ABS production facility.

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