1st Aug 2006 07:01
D1 Oils Plc01 August 2006 D1 Oils Q2 2006 Planting and Refining Update 1 August, 2006 D1 Oils plc (D1), the UK-based global producer of biodiesel, announces itsquarterly agronomy and refining update for the second quarter ended 30 June2006. Agronomy Up to 30 June 2006 D1 has planted or obtained the rights to offtake fromplantings of a total of 68,210 hectares of jatropha worldwide. This representsan increase of 26,110 hectares on the total planting of 42,100 hectares up to 31March, as announced on 26 April, and exceeds internal targets. The bulk of the increase in planting for the quarter is accounted for byoperations in South East Asia, primarily in Indonesia. Our global plantingprogramme is determined by the changes in the seasons, and the beginning ofsummer in the Indian subcontinent and autumn in Southern Africa determines thatonly limited planting is possible in the second quarter of the calendar year.Planting will recommence in India and Southern Africa in the third quarter.Weather conditions in South East Asia are suitable for planting throughout theyear. The cumulative position at 30 June is summarised in the table below: Managed Contract Seed purchase and Total plantations farming oil supply agreementsIndia - 10,505 16,118 26,623Southern 5,155 - 2,000 7,155Africa South - 26,693 7,739 34,432EastAsiaTotal 5,155 37,198 25,857 68,210 Managed plantations are those farms where the land and labour is directly controlled by D1. In contract farming individual farmers purchase seed and seedlings from and enter into offtake agreements with D1. Trees are planted on the farmers' own land. Seed purchase and oil supply agreements represent offtakecontracts over existing jatropha planting. Refining Our refinery programme is on track with the first four D1 20 production unitsnow in place at our new refinery centre in Middlesbrough. We expect all fourunits to be in production by the end of September 2006, creating an interimcapacity of 32,000 tonnes per annum. The first unit has now been run at 100% offlow sheet while successfully producing biodiesel from soya oil. The D1 20 has a capacity of 8,000 tonnes per annum and has been successfullytested on a range of feedstocks including rapeseed, soya, palm olein andjatropha. Following the adoption of the Fuel Tax Bill 2006 in Australia, effective 1 July2006, fuel tax arrangements have been rationalised in relation to mineral dieseland biodiesel. Following these amendments, credits have been provided to mineraldiesel for off road use, power generation and consumption in large trucks. Inresponse to these amendments we are reviewing with our local partners thebusiness plan for D1 Australia Limited, to which an exclusive refinery franchisefor the Australian and New Zealand markets was granted in May 2006. Trading The first shipment of 2,000 tonnes of soya vegetable oil for refining intobiodiesel was delivered to the Middlesbrough refinery site from the wharf on theRiver Tees in June. We expect inbound tanker shipments to rise to 6,000 tonnesper month by the time the refinery site reaches 72,000 tonnes of capacity. Elliott Mannis, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils, commented: "This is anexcellent result, with planting up over 60%. It exceeds expectations for aquarter in which seasonal weather patterns limit continuous planting to SouthEast Asia. Given that the next quarter will see both continued planting in SouthEast Asia and a resumption of planting in India and Southern Africa, theprogress is very promising. Although we are reviewing our refinery franchisebusiness in Australia in response to changes in the tax regime, our UK refinerydeployment programme is proceeding well and we are excited at the prospect ofhaving the first refinery cluster in full production by the end of September." Contacts: D1 Oils: Graham Prince, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: +44 (0) 1642 755580 Mobile: +44 (0) 7973 323840 Brunswick Group: Kevin Byram 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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