1996	Union Carbide Corporation (before merger with The Dow Chemical Company) & PETRONAS signed Letter Of Intent
1998	Joint venture agreement signed between Union Carbide Corporation & PETRONAS. Five contracts were awarded for the OPTIMAL project:   PMC Contract - Kvaener (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Olefins Contract - Linde AG & Samsung Engineering Company Ltd. (primary sub-contractor) Glycol Contract - Toyo Engineering Corporation Butanol & Derivatives Contract - Bechtel Bina (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd General Facilities Contract - TECHNIP Geoproduction (M) Sdn Bhd Clearing of land for the OPTIMAL site in Kertih, Terengganu commenced
1999	Construction of the OPTIMAL Complex commenced
2000	OPTIMAL OLEFINS welcomes additional shareholder, Sasol Polymers International Investments (Pty) Ltd. of South Africa OPTIMAL sent 200 Malaysians for training in various Dow and Petronas facilities to prepare them with technical skills for operating the new plant
2002	January: The first on-spec ethylene was produced marking OPTIMAL's transition from "project stage" to a fully operational petrochemical company March 2002: OPTIMAL's first export product, Mono Ethylene Glycol was sold to Perusahaan Kimia Gemilang Sdn Bhd   October: Final reactor in the OPTIMAL complex was successfully started-up. Project phase completed
2003	OPTIMAL successfully passes Malaysia's Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) shutdown inspection and commenced full commercial operation
2009	Petronas acquired all Dow's stakes in OPTIMAL

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