INTERVIEW - Cargill Takes Stake in UK's Greenergy Biofuels
Date: 01-Mar-06
Country: UK
Author: David Brough
Andrew Owens told Reuters that Greenergy Biofuels Ltd planned to build the new biodiesel plant near Cargill's existing oilseed crushing facilities in the port of Liverpool in northwest England.
This was subject to the successful conclusion of business case studies, Owens said, noting that demand for biofuels in Britain was rising sharply.
He declined to say how much Cargill paid for the 25 percent stake.
Owens also announced the acceleration of the construction of Greenergy Biofuels' biodiesel plant in Immingham in northeast England, one of the largest petroleum ports in Europe with two major oil refineries.
"We are bringing forward the second phase -- there will not be a gap after the first phase," he said, referring to the Immingham plant.
The first phase, which would cost around 16 million pounds, would produce about 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year, while a second phase that would add 100,000 tonnes to capacity for just eight million pounds would follow.
Owens said he expected the first phase at the Immingham plant to wrap up in the late summer or early autumn 2006.
He said it might be possible to break ground on the Liverpool plant, expected to have a capacity in excess of 100,000 tonnes per year, later in 2006.
Both plants were expected to use UK rapeseed, as well as other oils, and might well absorb together "materially above 15 percent" of Britain's rapeseed crop.
He expected biofuels demand in Britain to almost double in 2007 from 2006, when demand was double that in 2005.
"Our partnership with Cargill and Tesco is a powerful indication of the future significance of biofuels, with both feedstock suppliers and forecourt retailers cementing their position in the supply chain," Owens said.
UK supermarket chain Tesco is a 25 percent shareholder in Greenergy Fuels.
Tesco is the leading biofuel retailer in the UK, offering biofuel blends at more than 40 percent of its petrol stations.
In the last five years, the production of biofuels in Britain has moved from being a small industry to a multi-million pound business.
"Home grown biofuels are not only providing environmental benefits but are also helping to provide national security through local sourcing," Owens said, in reference to the planned use of UK rapeseed at the biodiesel plants.