17th Jul 2009 08:54
17 July 2009
D1 Announces First Third-Party Deal to Supply
Jatropha Technology and Services
D1 Oils plc ("D1" or "the Company") announces that it has agreed terms in principle with Bedford Biofuels for the supply of plant science and planting technology and services over a five year period. Bedford Biofuels is a privately held Canadian company with commercial Jatropha curcas plantations in Kenya and Zambia for biodiesel production.
Under the terms of the proposed agreement, D1 would license on a non-exclusive basis technology acquired through D1's agronomy research and breeding programme to Bedford Biofuels. The agreement once entered into would also offer a framework for the sale of technology consulting services and Jatropha planting seed and seedlings. Intellectual property rights would remain in D1 ownership.
The contract in its final form has been agreed in principle, but will not be executed or have legal effect until the sale of BP International's shares in D1-BP Fuel Crops Limited has been completed in accordance with the sale and purchase agreement announced earlier today. The BP sale will take place only following the passing of relevant resolutions at a D1 shareholders' meeting. Resolutions for this purpose are proposed at D1's forthcoming Annual General Meeting on 23 July 2009.
Commenting on the agreement, Ben Good, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils, said:
"Generating revenue through the sale of plant science and planting technology and services to the growing number of new Jatropha projects worldwide is a key element of our strategy as we restructure the D1 business by merging our plant science and planting operations. We are seeing increasing interest from third parties in paying for access to our technology and knowhow in plant breeding, agronomy research and meal processing for Jatropha. We are very pleased with this initiative with Bedford Biofuels and we anticipate further development of this area of our business as the Jatropha industry matures and commercial planting operations expand."
David McClure, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bedford Biofuels, commented as follows:
"We are immensely impressed with the work D1 has done and the headway it has made with Jatropha. The research and development D1 has produced is exactly in line with our business strategy to supply the growing world demand for non-food-crop biofuel. We couldn't be more excited to have forged a relationship with D1, which we feel will be of tremendous mutual benefit to our business endeavours."
Contacts
D1 Oils:
Graham Prince, Head of Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7367 5600
Mobile: +44 (0) 7973 323840
Bedford Biofuels:
David McClure, President and CEO
Bedford Biofuels
Tel: +1 403 648 6100
Brunswick Group:
Camilla Gore / Kevin Byram
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
Piper Jaffray:
Michael Covington / William Carnwath (Qualified Executive)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3142 8700
Notes to Editors:
D1 Oils plc is an alternative energy crop company. We are pioneering the development of Jatropha curcas, a robust, tropical oilseed bearing tree, into a new sustainable energy crop that has the potential to replace food crops as a source of biodiesel. Jatropha is a hardy crop that is able to grow on a wide range of soils, including soils which are sub-optimal for arable agriculture. Its grain is crushed to produce inedible oil for biodiesel and meal that has the potential to be processed into a high-value, protein source for animal feed. We have an established plant science and planting programme for Jatropha, and we provide commercial technology and services to the emerging Jatropha sector, including the breeding and selection of Jatropha seeds and seedlings, the development of planting practices and husbandry methods, and the harvesting and processing of Jatropha oil and meal.
Bedford Biofuels (www.bedfordbiofuels.com) is an Alberta, Canada-based environmentally responsible "oil" company committed to maximizing production yields, environmental benefits and humanitarian efforts. Bedford has engaged the world's leading experts in seed and plant science, agronomy, plantation management and forest in relation to Jatropha production. As a result, Bedford is poised to become a biofuels industry leader.
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