Myriant Corporation, a global renewable chemicals company located in the United States, and Bayegan Group, an international chemical production and trading company headquartered in Turkey, today announced a broad collaboration agreement to commercialize Myriant's bio-succinic acid in markets across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa (Territory). The signed collaboration agreement was exchanged at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Refiners (AFRA) in San Antonio, Texas.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bayegan has committed to annually purchase a pre-determined amount of Myriant's bio-succinic acid for supply to customers in the Territory. In addition, Myriant has granted exclusive distribution rights of bio-succinic acid to Bayegan in the Territory. The two companies have also agreed to negotiate a potential joint venture to build a bio-succinic acid plant in Turkey subject to certain commercial milestones being met.

Globally, the annual worldwide market for succinic acid is estimated at approximately $7.5 billion. Succinic acid, which is traditionally produced from petroleum, can be used in a wide variety of applications including polymers, urethanes, plasticizers and coatings. Myriant's high purity bio-succinic acid is made from renewable feedstocks and is chemically equivalent to petroleum-based succinic acid while providing a lower environmental footprint. Myriant's bio-succinic acid reduces harmful green house gas emissions by 94% compared to petroleum-derived succinic acid and by 96% compared to petroleum-derived adipic acid.