Release Details

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 2003-- Aspen Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZPN) today announced that it has begun implementation of an energy optimization and management system for the BP Texas City refining and chemicals complex. The system is based on the Aspen Utilities(TM) product and will enable BP to make more effective decisions that help the company supply electricity and steam to the site at the lowest total cost and with reduced environmental impact.

The energy optimization and management system will help BP predict and manage the power and steam demands for the entire facility, based on a sophisticated model of the plant operations. The system uses analysis and optimization tools to ensure that overall energy consumption is minimized and that appropriate supplies are delivered at the most favorable cost, based on an economic assessment of the alternative sources. These capabilities will allow BP to maximize its return on investment from a state-of-the-art cogeneration plant, currently under construction, which will become the major supplier of the site's electricity and steam.

"Achieving a secure and low-cost supply of energy and steam is of vital importance to our operations," said Terry Harclerode, Manager, Commercial & Business Relations at BP's South Houston Texas City Site. "We believe that the energy optimization and management system will provide our managers with the ability to identify the operating strategy that delivers the greatest overall financial benefits to BP. Optimizing the way we utilize our new cogeneration facility and minimizing the site's manufacturing process unit energy needs will also result in more reliable utility supplies and significant environmental benefits for the Texas City Operations."

The cogeneration plant will provide BP with the option of exporting any excess power to external customers, resulting in an additional potential source of income. The energy optimization and management system will provide plant and energy supply planners with accurate information about the available capacity and the cost of production, enabling more profitable business decisions to be made. This real-time information will also allow the site to decide to import electricity if the price is advantageous.

Energy costs are among the largest operational expenses for integrated refinery and chemical operations like the Texas City complex. The BP site features one of the largest and most complex refineries in the world, with a throughput of 480,000 barrels of crude oil daily, and a wide range of products including low-sulfur gasoline, heavy fuel and petrochemical feedstocks. The adjacent chemicals facility has nine process units, and produces a range of products based on the feedstocks supplied by the refinery.

"Major production sites like the BP Texas City operations need effective decision-support tools to optimize the way they use and source energy," said David McQuillin, President and CEO of AspenTech. "Aspen Utilities provides companies with a simple tool that gives them the information they need for both day-to-day operational management and long-term strategic planning. This knowledge can deliver significant benefits including lower energy bills, improved asset utilization and reduced environmental impact."

Aspen Utilities is part of the Aspen Engineering Suite(TM), an essential element of AspenTech's solutions for enterprise operations management in the process industries. These integrated, enterprise-wide solutions combine engineering and manufacturing/supply chain technologies to help companies optimize the way they engineer and run their manufacturing and supply chain operations.

About BP

BP p.l.c. is the holding company of one of the world's largest petroleum and petrochemicals groups whose main activities are exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas; refining, marketing, supply and transportation; and manufacturing and marketing of petrochemicals. BP has a growing activity in gas and power and in solar power generation. It has well-established operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia and Africa

About AspenTech

Aspen Technology, Inc. provides industry-leading software and implementation services that enable process companies to increase efficiency and profitability. AspenTech's engineering product line is used to design and improve plants and processes, maximizing returns throughout an asset's operating life. Its manufacturing/supply chain product line allows companies to increase margins in their plants and supply chains, by managing customer demand, optimizing production, and streamlining the delivery of finished products. These two offerings are combined to create solutions for enterprise operations management (EOM), integrated enterprise-wide systems that provide process manufacturers with the capability to dramatically improve their operating performance. Over 1,500 leading companies already rely on AspenTech's software, including Aventis, Bayer, BASF, BP, ChevronTexaco, Dow Chemical, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Fluor, Foster Wheeler, GlaxoSmithKline, Shell, and Total. For more information, visit www.aspentech.com.

Certain paragraphs of this press release contain forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statement using the term "will," "should," "could," "anticipates," "believes" or a comparable term is a forward-looking statement. Actual results may vary significantly from AspenTech's expectations based on a number of risks and uncertainties, including: AspenTech's lengthy sales cycle which makes it difficult to predict quarterly operating results; fluctuations in AspenTech's quarterly operating results; AspenTech's dependence on customers in cyclical industries; adverse global economic conditions; AspenTech's ability to raise additional capital as required; the FTC's investigation of the Hyprotech acquisition; the outcome of AspenTech's restructuring plans; intense competition; AspenTech's need to develop and market products successfully; and other risk factors described from time to time in AspenTech's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AspenTech cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Moreover, neither AspenTech nor anyone else assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any forward-looking statements. AspenTech undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

AspenTech, Aspen Engineering Suite, Aspen Utilities and the aspen leaf logo are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.

CONTACT: For Media:
Aspen Technology, Inc.
Peter Watt, +44 1223 819-752
peter.watt@aspentech.com

Marie Telepneff, 510-748-4709
marie.telepneff@aspentech.com

For Investors:
Joshua Young, 617-949-1274
joshua.young@aspentech.com