Petroplus Announces Reduction in Executive Compensation

Regulatory News:
Petroplus Holdings AG (SWX: PPHN). Petroplus´s

Chairman, Thomas D. O´Malley, today announced

a reduction in the expense for executive compensation. The Board of

Directors of Petroplus, at its regular February Board Meeting, asked its

Compensation Committee to review the overall executive compensation

program for Petroplus. In particular, the current option program was not

considered to be meeting its expectations. In line with this, Mr. Robert

Lavinia, Petroplus´s Chief Executive Officer

has decided to forfeit a total of 350,000 options granted to him during

the year 2007. These options were valued and disclosed in Petroplus

Holdings AG´s 2007 Statutory Financial

Statements at approximately CHF 15.1 million. Mr. Lavinia, Mr. O´Malley

and other members of executive management have also voluntarily

relinquished options granted since 1st January 2008.
Mr. O´Malley stated that "Mr.

Lavinia was under no obligation to forfeit these options, but Mr.

Lavinia felt that the expense of the options shown in the Statutory

Financial Statements exceeded the benefit to the Company." Mr. O´Malley further stated that "Mr.

Lavinia identified this issue in February suggesting that he wanted to

act in the Company´s best interest."
Mr. O´Malley indicated that the above actions

will result in a re-capture of approximately $4 million already charged

in 2007 and the lowering of compensation expenses in 2008 to 2010 of

about $17 million for a total reduction of $21 million.
Petroplus´s Vice Chairman, and Chairperson of

the Compensation Committee, Mr. Patrick de Barros, said "We

appreciate Mr. Lavinia and the other members of executive management

cooperating on this issue and making a significant financial sacrifice."
Petroplus´s goal is to provide appropriate

incentives to its executives to enhance shareholder value, and to pay

them in accordance with Swiss, European and industry norms for

executives carrying out similar duties in similarly-sized companies.
Petroplus Holdings AG is the largest independent refiner and wholesaler

of petroleum products in Europe. Petroplus focuses on refining and

currently owns and operates seven refineries across Europe: the Coryton

refinery on the Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom, the Ingolstadt

refinery in Ingolstadt, Germany, the Belgium Refining Company refinery

in Antwerp, Belgium, the Petit Couronne refinery in Petit Couronne

France, the Cressier refinery in the canton of Neuchâtel

Switzerland, the Reichstett refinery in Alsace, France and the Teesside

refinery in Teesside, United Kingdom. The refineries have a combined

throughput capacity of approximately 864,000 bpd.