700,000 hectares of oil palm for biofuels in Liberia
Nardina Resources PLC, an extractive industries group, has announced that it has agreed to buy Liberian Forest Products [no website], a group that holds permits covering not less than 700,000 hectares of tropical land in Liberia with commercial agricultural potential, for £400,000 (€590,000/US$750,000) and 300million shares.
If the move is approved by investors the company plans to change its name to Equatorial Biofuels. (Similar biofuels companies with the name 'equatorial' or 'equator' are sprining up elsewhere, such as Equator Energy, a biofuels consulting firm focusing on the tropics - it seems like the developing world is indeed becoming a future investment zone for the green revolution).
Nardina wants to develop a large scale, vertically integrated oil palm and biofuels project. The land has an existing established oil palm plantation of over 8,000 hectares. 'The project provides the potential for Nardina to develop into a significant vertically integrated producer of biofuels with a competitive advantage through controlling its own feedstock,' chairman Michael Frayne said in a statement. 'The outlook for the rapidly growing global renewable energy sector is very positive, driven by high energy prices, government incentives and environmental initiatives.'
The company said it will work closely with the new government of Liberia and international donor groups, in the development of the project, which it claims has the potential to make a significant economic and socio-economic contribution to the African country. A further 100 million shares will be issued on the performance milestones of the production of 40,000 tonnes of biodiesel or 200,000 tonnes of oil palm fruit.
We will be monitoring the developments surrounding this company, with a critical eye on how it implements measures to ensure the social and environmental sustainability of its projects. The palm oil industry is not a sector where companies can quickly 'greenwash' themselves; on the contrary, in order to be sustainable, a whole series of quite stringent criteria have to be fullfilled. The same applies to the social conditions under which the production of palm oil and palm biofuels takes place.
[entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: palm oil :: Liberia :: Africa ::
If the move is approved by investors the company plans to change its name to Equatorial Biofuels. (Similar biofuels companies with the name 'equatorial' or 'equator' are sprining up elsewhere, such as Equator Energy, a biofuels consulting firm focusing on the tropics - it seems like the developing world is indeed becoming a future investment zone for the green revolution).
Nardina wants to develop a large scale, vertically integrated oil palm and biofuels project. The land has an existing established oil palm plantation of over 8,000 hectares. 'The project provides the potential for Nardina to develop into a significant vertically integrated producer of biofuels with a competitive advantage through controlling its own feedstock,' chairman Michael Frayne said in a statement. 'The outlook for the rapidly growing global renewable energy sector is very positive, driven by high energy prices, government incentives and environmental initiatives.'
The company said it will work closely with the new government of Liberia and international donor groups, in the development of the project, which it claims has the potential to make a significant economic and socio-economic contribution to the African country. A further 100 million shares will be issued on the performance milestones of the production of 40,000 tonnes of biodiesel or 200,000 tonnes of oil palm fruit.
We will be monitoring the developments surrounding this company, with a critical eye on how it implements measures to ensure the social and environmental sustainability of its projects. The palm oil industry is not a sector where companies can quickly 'greenwash' themselves; on the contrary, in order to be sustainable, a whole series of quite stringent criteria have to be fullfilled. The same applies to the social conditions under which the production of palm oil and palm biofuels takes place.
[entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: palm oil :: Liberia :: Africa ::
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