27th Jul 2007 07:00
D1 Oils Plc27 July 2007 Press Release D1 Oils Q2 2007 Business Update 27 July, 2007 D1 Oils plc ('D1' or 'the Company'), the UK-based global producer of biodiesel,today announces its quarterly business update for the second quarter ended 30June 2007. Agronomy Planting Up to 30 June 2007, D1 has planted or obtained rights to offtake from a total of175,081 hectares of jatropha worldwide. This represents an increase of over18,000 hectares on the total of 156,741 hectares as at 31 March 2007, asannounced in the quarterly update on 2 May 2007. The increase in planting isaccounted for predominantly by planting in India, with planting under contractfarming in the North East with Williamson Magor making particularly goodprogress. The cumulative position at 30 June 2007 is summarised in the table below: Managed Contract Seed purchase Total plantations farming and oil supply hectares agreements ------------------------------------------------------------------------India South - 7,984 - 7,984 North East - 21,640 2,000 23,640 Rest - 5,093 22,924 28,017------------------------------------------------------------------------ - 34,717 24,924 59,641------------------------------------------------------------------------Africa Swaziland 1,227 - 8,017 9,244 Zambia 2,411 20,760 - 23,171 Rest - - 8,629 8,629------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3,638 20,760 16,646 41,044------------------------------------------------------------------------South China - - 28,000 28,000East Indonesia - 36,640 - 36,640Asia Rest - 4,780 4,976 9,756------------------------------------------------------------------------ - 41,420 32,976 74,396------------------------------------------------------------------------Total 3,638 96,897 74,546 175,081------------------------------------------------------------------------ The level of investment costs and security of future oil supply from plantingare proportional to the degree of direct involvement by D1 and its partners.Managed plantations are those farms where land and labour is controlled by D1,either through its subsidiaries or joint venture partners. Under contractfarming, the farmer plants his own trees on his own land. D1 and its partnersassist with the provision of seedlings and the arrangement of bank finance forplanting, and offer a buyback of harvested seeds with an offtake agreement. Weprovide support and advice during cultivation, and monitor the condition of thecrops. Seed and oil supply agreements are arms-length supply contracts withthird parties whereby D1, either directly or through joint venture partners, hasofftake arrangements in place over future output from jatropha plantations whichthe third party is developing. D1 has limited involvement in this planting andrelies on third parties to measure and manage the crop effectively. New planting agreements We have recently signed two significant planting Memoranda of Understanding(MOU) in Indonesia. The first, with PT Astra Agro Lestari, part of the JardineMatheson Group and the largest publicly traded agribusiness in Indonesia,concerns the creation of a 500 hectare Jatropha curcas pilot plantation,planting of which is planned to start in Q4 2007. Should this pilot proceedwell, the aim is to carry out significant planting on a commercial basis. The second is a tripartite MOU between PT Medco Energi International, PT MambrukSarana Interbuana and D1 Oils Asia Pacific, and concerns a 500 hectare pilotplantation in West Java. Planting operations will commence in Q4 2007 with theintention to expand to 10,000 hectares. PT Medco International is a publiclylisted integrated energy company. PT Mambruk is one of the pioneers of solarenergy in Indonesia. Plant science Multiplication of our first 'E1' elite seed material, selected for higher yieldand good biodiesel profile, is now fully underway in all three regions. We areon track to plant 50,000 hectares of E1 elite seed in 2008. Refining and trading Commissioning work continues on our fifth D1 20 refinery unit at our Teessidesite. This is the first of our upgraded D1 20 units and has an enhanced capacityof 10,000 tonnes per year. We expect the unit to be in beneficial operation bySeptember 2007, increasing the production capacity of our Teesside site to42,000 tonnes. Work on the first phase of operations at our Bromborough site to convert theexisting facilities for production of biodiesel continues on track. Processcommissioning is underway and on schedule. It is expected that the Bromboroughsite will be in beneficial operation before the end of the year. Elliott Mannis, Chief Executive Officer of D1 Oils, commented: "The planting figures demonstrate continued strong progress. We are particularlypleased with the operations in India, where our partners continue to plantvigorously. Our plant science programme is also well on track to deliver theelite seed for the planting of the first higher yielding varieties of jatrophain 2008. In UK refining, we continue to expand our UK refining capacityprudently in advance of the implementation of the UK Renewable Transport FuelsObligation next year. The commissioning of our fifth D1 20 refinery on Teessideand the expansion of capacity at Bromborough will give us a solid base forfuture growth as the market develops under the impact of the new regulations." Contacts: D1 Oils:Graham Prince, Head of Corporate CommunicationsTel: +44 (0) 1642 755580Mobile: +44 (0) 7973 323840 Brunswick Group:Mark AntelmeTel: +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. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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