Mission Biofuels to produce biodiesel in China

March 5, 2007
Mission Biofuels has signed an MOU with China's East River Energy Resources & Science Technology for a joint venture production contract to produce biodiesel for the Chinese market.

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Mar. 5 -- Mission Biofuels Ltd., Perth, has signed a memorandum of understanding with China's East River Energy Resources & Science Technology (Zhejiang) Ltd. for a joint venture production contract to produce biodiesel for the Chinese market.

East River will commission a 50,000 tonne/year biodiesel manufacturing facility at Tongxiang, 140 km from Shanghai, which Mission will use to produce biodiesel.

Mission expects production throughput of 24,000 tonnes in the first year, while East River has agreed to expand capacity, at its own cost, to provide another 50,000 tonnes/year exclusively for Mission.

East River said the additional capacity would be ready within 9 months of any request for it by Mission.

Through its Indian and Malaysian subsidiaries, Mission will secure sustainable cheap feedstock from South Asia and Southeast Asia, which East River will use to produce biodiesel.

Meanwhile, Mission said it also has concluded an offtake agreement with Wuhan PetroChina Lubricant Co. Ltd. for Wuhan PetroChina will take as much as 2,000 tonnes/month of biodiesel from Mission on a take-or-pay basis at the published PetroChina daily wholesale mineral diesel price.

Mission said the MOU and the Wuhan PetroChina proposal are expected to be replaced with definitive agreements within 90 days.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].