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Liveris said the company would seek damages over and above that amount.However, Dow also said it was ready to go ahead with the Kuwaiti deal if Petrochemical Industries remedied the breach of contract.A spokesman for state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp, which controls Petrochemical Industries declined to comment.Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service both cut their ratings on Dow last week and left their ratings on review for further downgrade.Kuwaiti legislators terminated the joint venture agreement due to concerns that the project would not be economically viable in light of the global financial crisis and the slump in worldwide petrochemical sales.The new venture had been due to market petrochemicals and plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate, used in products ranging from plastic bottles and compact disks to computers and agricultural compounds.(Additional reporting Ulf Laessing in Kuwait; Editing by Gerald E McCormick and John Wallace) Deals. CALGARY, Jan 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CE Franklin Ltd. (AMEX: - CFK)announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase ofup to 900,000 of its common shares without par value ("Common Shares"), beingapproximately 5 of the total number of Common Shares outstanding as of thedate hereof, from time to time in open market or privately negotiatedtransactions. CE Franklin distributes pipe,valves, flanges, fittings, production equipment, tubular products and othergeneral oilfield supplies to oil and gas producers in Canada as well as to theoilsands, refining, heavy oil, petrochemical, forestry and mining industries.These products are distributed through its 44 branches, which are situated intowns and cities serving particular oil and gas fields of the western Canadiansedimentary basin.Forward-looking Statements: The information in this news release may contain"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of theSecurities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934and other applicable securities legislation.

All statements, other thanstatements of historical facts, that address activities, events, outcomes andother matters that CE Franklin plans, expects, intends, assumes, believes,budgets, predicts, forecasts, projects, estimates or anticipates (and othersimilar expressions) will, should or may occur in the future areforward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based onmanagement's current belief, based on currently available information, as tothe outcome and timing of future events. When considering forward-lookingstatements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionarystatements and refer to the Form 20-F or our annual information form forfurther detail.SOURCECE Franklin Ltd.Investor Relations, (800) 345-2858, (403) 531-5604, . SEATTLE(Business Wire)On November 10, 2008, Seattle-based law firm Williams Kastner launched theNorthwest Insurance Law Blog (), a websitedevoted to developments in insurance law in the Pacfiic Northwest. Contributors includeSeattle members Jerry Edmonds, Dana Ferestien and Re Knack as well as David Ryanwho is of counsel in Williams Kastners Portland office. The site will be avaluable resource for insurers and insureds as well as professionals working inor with the insurance industry. About Williams KastnerWilliams Kastner has been serving clients in the Pacific Northwest since 1929.With more than 90 attorneys in three offices located throughout Washington andOregon as well as affiliated offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, thefirm offers a full range of legal services to local and international clients.Its website address is Williams KastnerGreg Olsen, 206-233-2940 Copyright Business Wire 2009.

(Adds details, background, updates Dow share price) Stocks Regulatory News Mergers & Acquisitions Private Capital By Euan Rocha MUMBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N) will takelegal action against Petrochemical Industries Co of Kuwait andis seeking more than $2.5 billion in damages from the Kuwaitisfor backing out of a joint venture agreement, the largest U.S.chemical maker said on Tuesday. Last month, Kuwait decided to scrap a deal to form a $17.4billion petrochemical joint venture with Dow, potentiallyupsetting Dow's plans to buy rival Rohm & Haas Co ROH.N. Dow had planned to use proceeds from the joint venture torepay a large part of the debt financing for the $15.3 billionRohm & Haas acquisition. Under the joint venture agreement,Petrochemical Industries was to pay Dow $7.5 billion. Liveris declined to comment on whether Dow would consider renegotiating the Rohm and Haas deal or would consider pullingout of it.

"Rohm and Haas is on strategy and is in the regulatoryapproval process," said Liveris. Shares of Dow were up 81 cents or 5.4 percent to $15.86 inafternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange following thecompany's statement that it plans to pursue legal actionagainst the state-run Kuwaiti firm. DIVIDEND SECURE Liveris said Dow has no plans to lower its dividend, now 42cents per share quarterly, despite the tough global economicconditions and the breakdown of the joint venture agreement. Dow and other chemical companies are struggling because ofrecession in most developed countries and a sharp slowdown inemerging economies. The company said last month it would close 20 facilities,divest several businesses and cut 5,000 jobs to cope with theslump. The actions will allow Dow to continue to pay a regularquarterly cash dividend, the company said. "We took aggressive action in 2008 and we will acceleratethese actions even faster and more aggressively in 2009," saidLiveris.