Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, July 5 -- BP PLC and D1 Oils PLC will launch a joint venture company, D1-BP Fuel Crops Ltd., to mass-produce trees with inedible oilseeds for biodiesel feedstock. They plan to spend $160 million over the next 5 years growing drought-resistant Jatropha curcas trees.
The company, in which BP and D1 Oils will have equal stakes, will have 172,000 hectares of D1 Oil's existing plantations in India, Southern Africa, and South East Asia. D1-BP Fuel Crops will have exclusive access to jatropha seedlings produced through D1 Oil's plant science program.
"The joint venture expects to develop one million hectares over the next 4 years, with an estimated 300,000 hectares/year afterwards. Investments will be made through directly managed plantations on owned or leased land, which will also provide employment for local communities, and through contract farming and seed purchase agreements," BP said.
Soybean, palm, and rapeseed oils are increasingly used for biofuels. According to BP, biodiesel demand will hit 11 million tonnes/year from 2010.
D1-BP Fuel Crops aims to become the world's largest commercial producer of jatropha feedstock with output of as much as 2 million tonnes/year.
BP earlier said it would build a world-scale bioethanol plant and biobutanol demonstration plant in Hull (OGJ Online, Jun. 27, 2007).
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected]