26th Apr 2006 09:05
D1 Oils Plc26 April 2006 D1 Oils Q1 2006 Planting and Refining Update Over 42,000 hectares planted by 31 March 2006 refinery deployment on track 26 April, 2006 - London D1 Oils plc (D1), the UK-based global producer of biodiesel, announces itsquarterly agronomy and refining update for the first quarter ended 31 March2006. Agronomy Up to 31 March 2006 D1 has planted or obtained the rights to offtake fromplantings of a total of 42,100 hectares of jatropha worldwide. This representsan increase of 5,100 hectares on our total planting of 37,000 hectares up to 18 March as announced in our full year results on 28 March. The position at 31 March is summarised in the table below: Managed Contract Seed purchase and oil supply Total plantations farming agreements India - 10,300 16,100 26,400 Southern 4,900 - - 4,900Africa South East - 8,800 2,000 10,800Asia Total 4,900 19,100 18,100 42,100 Managed plantations are those farms where the land and labour is directlycontrolled by D1. In contract farming individual farmers purchase seed andseedlings from and enter into offtake agreements with D1. Trees are planted onthe farmers' own land. Typically planting is supported by bank finance withoutrecourse to D1 but facilitated by D1's offtake arrangements. Seed purchase andoil supply agreements represent offtake contracts over existing jatrophaplanting. Refining The first two D1 20 production units are currently undergoing commissioning atour new refinery centre in Middlesbrough. Two further units are due to bedelivered for commissioning in May and June respectively. We expect all fourunits to be in full production by the Autumn. The D1 20 has a capacity of 8,000tonnes per annum and has been successfully tested on a range of feedstocksincluding rapeseed, soy, palm and jatropha. The deployment of the first clusterof four units will give our Middlesbrough site a total full production capacityof 32,000 tonnes a year. We are confident that we will produce a further fiveD1 20 units to meet our target of nine by December 2006. Elliott Mannis, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils, commented: "We are pleasedto have achieved a total of 42,100 hectares planted by the end of the firstquarter. The main planting activity during the second quarter will be inSouthern Africa, where the planting season is underway, and in South East Asia,where planting by our partners is proceeding well. Our refinery deploymentprogramme is on track and within budget, and we are excited at the prospect ofgetting the first D1 20 into full production shortly." Contacts: D1 Oils: Graham Prince, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: +44 (0) 1642 755580 Mobile: +44 (0) 7973 323840 Brunswick Group: Helen Barnes, Associate Partner Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 Notes to Editors D1 Oils plc is a UK-based global producer of biodiesel. We are building a globalsupply chain and network that is sustainable and delivers value from"earth-to-engine". Our operations cover agronomy, refining and trading. We arepioneering the science, planting and production of inedible vegetable oils; wedesign, build, own, operate and market biodiesel refineries; and we source,transport and trade seeds and seedlings, seedcake, crude vegetable oils andbiodiesel. Our vision is to be the world's leading biodiesel business. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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