D1 Oils new refinery site

RNS Number:8281Z
D1 Oils Plc
15 March 2006



            D1 Oils Establishes Biodiesel Refinery Site on Teesside


              8.4 Acre Site to House Refineries and New Global HQ


15 March, 2006 - London

D1 Oils plc (D1), the UK-based global producer of biodiesel from renewable
energy crops, announces that it has established a new global headquarters in
Middlesbrough on Teesside, and has delivered the first of four biodiesel
refinery units it expects to put on the site by the end of June 2006. All four
units are expected to be in full production by Autumn 2006, creating a regional
refinery centre with an initial production capacity of 32,000 tonnes per annum.
In advance of the availability in volume of supplies of crude jatropha oil, D1's
primary feedstock, the refineries will produce biodiesel from food grade
vegetable oils.


D1 will make the site, located on Riverside Industrial Park, Middlesbrough, its
global operational and UK headquarters, bringing together teams formerly
dispersed in London, Stockton and Preston. The site will also house refinery
research and development, final assembly and testing facilities for refinery
units for export, and training facilities for refinery crews from D1's
international operations and overseas partners and customers.


The four new refineries to be deployed at the site are the first production
units of the company's D1 20 refinery. Each unit is capable of producing 8,000
tonnes of biodiesel per year. D1's first refinery, the D1 20 test unit currently
located near Preston in the North West of England, will be moved to the
Middlesbrough site in the near future. This will continue to be used as a test
refinery rather than a full production unit, bringing the total number of
refinery units deployed to Middlesbrough to five.


The 8.4 acre site is located 800m from the river Tees. A rail siding connects
the site to the river wharf. The site has 26,000 sq ft of test and fabrication
area, alongside a tank farm, and workshop, laboratory and office space.
Sufficient land exists to expand significantly refinery and tank farm
operations. Necessary local planning permissions were completed in February. The
Environment Agency has indicated that final operating approvals can be granted
shortly.


Elliott Mannis, CEO of D1 Oils, said: "We are building a global supply chain for
biodiesel production stretching from the upstream agronomy of planting and
harvesting energy crops to downstream refining and trading of vegetable oils and
biodiesel. By operating four D1 20 refineries on a single site we can benefit
from considerable economies of scale. The site has room for significant
expansion of refinery operations."


Karl Watkin, Chairman of D1 Oils, added: "The deployment of the first D1 20 to
Teesside to begin refining biodiesel is the realisation of years of hard work by
the whole company and in particular by the refinery team. The site will be a
showcase for the refining technology and engineering capabilities of both D1 and
the region."


Middlesbrough Councillor David Budd, executive member for regeneration, said:
"It is good to see a growing company making Middlesbrough their location of
choice. This is a market with massive potential and D1 Oils will be ideally
placed to expand and prosper."


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


Middlesbrough Council:

Mike Clark

Public Relations Officer

Tel: +44 (0)1642 729502.



Notes to Editors


D1 Oils plc is a UK-based global producer of biodiesel from renewable energy
crops. We are building a global supply chain and network that is sustainable and
delivers value from "earth-to-engine". Our operations cover agronomy, refining
and trading. We are pioneering the science, planting and production of inedible
vegetable oils; we design, build, own, operate and market biodiesel refineries;
and we source, transport and trade seeds and seedlings, seedcake, crude
vegetable oils and biodiesel. 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 Exchange

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