BP, ABF AND DUPONT UNVEIL PLANS FOR GRASSROOTS BIOFUELS PLANT

Since the 2010 Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) requires 5% of U.K. transport fuel to come from biofuels by 2010, a coalition consisting of BP pic (www.bp.com), ABF (www.abf.co.uk) and DuPont (www.dupont.com) plans to invest $400 million to construct a world-scale bioetbanol plant. Split with BP and ABF holding 45% each and DuPont with the remaining 10%, the bioethanol plant is due to be completed in late 2009 and will be located on BP's existing chemicals site at Saltend, Hull. Planners anticipate a production capacity of 420 million L/yr from wheat feedstock. Front-end engineering and design work will commence immediately with Aker Kvaemer leading the project and their joint venture partner Praj providing the technology expertise. Although the plant will be built from scratch, it will have access to the existing infrastructure at the BP site for essential supporting services.

The BP site in Hull has also been selected as the preferred location for a biobutano! demonstration plant, funded and owned equally by BP and DuPont, which could produce around 20,000 L/yr of biobutanol from a wide variety of feedstocks. Biobutanol has the potential to be blended into gasoline at larger concentrations than existing biofuels, and without the need to retrofit vehicles. It offers better fuel economy than gasoline-ethanol blends, improving a car's fuel efficiency and mileage.

To begin market development of biobutanol, BP and DuPont are developing plans to introduce biobutanol for use in the U.K. They will import small quantities of biobutanol, sourced from an existing first generation manufacturing facility in China. The first product is expected to arrive by the end of 2007, and will be used to carry out infrastructure and advanced vehicle testing. This will build upon initial laboratory engine tests using conventional butanol, which exhibited similar fuel performance properties as unleaded gasoline. The companies plan to gather comprehensive data on the project's environmental footprint and the sustamability of this next generation fuel.