Probex Granted U.S. Patent for ProTerra Process

Business Wire, Sept 12, 2000

Business Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2000

Probex Corp. (AMEX:PRB), an energy technology company, announced today that it has been granted patent No. 6,106,699 from the U.S. Patent Office for key elements of ProTerra(TM), its proprietary used oil recycling and upgrading technology.

The patent provides, in its 42 claims, broad coverage for ProTerra(TM), including coverage of pivotal elements of the process which de-chlorinate and de-foul oil. The patent gives Probex the right to exclude others from using this proprietary technology in the United States for the next 15 years.

Probex filed this patent application for ProTerra(TM) with the U.S. Patent Office in April 1998, and received notice of allowance for all 42 claims of this application in November 1999. In July 2000, the company received a notice of allowance for 60 claims of an additional patent application for ProTerra(TM), filed with the U.S. Patent Office in September 1997. In addition, ProTerra(TM) is protected by a number of trade secrets developed by Probex and has a priority filing position in major countries around the world.

For further information about the patent, including a detailed description of the encompassed elements of the ProTerra(TM) process, please visit the U.S. Patent Office web site at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html.> "The granting of this patent marks a significant milestone for Probex," said Charles M. Rampacek, president and CEO of Probex. "With this patent protection, we now possess exclusive and proprietary rights to the ProTerra(TM) process, which is critical to the successful execution of our plant commercialization program. This program will commence with our first facility in Wellsville, Ohio, where we will break ground in the first quarter of 2001, and is complemented by our recent acquisitions of several large motor oil collection companies. Looking ahead, we are confident that we will also receive approval for our second patent application, which should further strengthen ProTerra's(TM) intellectual property protection."

Probex also announced that Martin R. MacDonald, one of the three original inventors of the ProTerra(TM) process, was recently assigned the new position of senior vice president of technology and business development. Mr. MacDonald most recently served as the company's senior vice president of operations, a position filled on Sept. 1 by David McNiel, former vice president of refining of Lyondell-Citgo Refining, LP.

About Probex

Probex is a Dallas-based energy technology company that has begun commercialization of ProTerra(TM), its proprietary lubricating base oil technology enabling production of premium quality base oil and other petroleum products from used lubricating oils.

For more information about Probex, visit the company's web site at www.probex.com.

Certain statements contained herein may be considered "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the belief of the Company's management, as well as assumptions made beyond information currently available to the Company's management. Because such "forward-looking statements" are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include financial performance, conditions in the lubricating oil industry, the company's ability to obtain financing for its anticipated acquisitions and plant development, market acceptance of the company's products and technologies, changes in local, national or global economic conditions, and similar variables.