Business profile

A strategy for growth

INEOS Enterprises has more than 10 years experience in the biodiesel sector and already holds a strong position in the French market, which is to be further strengthened by an ongoing €70 million investment to double biodiesel output at our Baleycourt Site by 2008. Centrally located in the heart of France's second largest vegetable oil producing region, the site currently transforms 110,000 per annum of rape seed oil for supply to customers in the fuel distribution and chemical industries.

INEOS Enterprises is moving forward with a strategy to achieve significant growth in its biodiesel business across Europe. The first step of this strategy will be to achieve at least 2 million tonnes of biodiesel output by 2012, with around 1.2 million tonnes of this by 2010. Through this strategy INEOS Enterprises will achieve un-paralleled market coverage; the Company will work in partnership with other key players including oil and supermarket majors to develop its position as a truly pan-European supplier.

As part of its growth strategy INEOS Enterprises is investing in a new biodiesel production facility at Grangemouth, Scotland. The facility will be at least 500 ktes and is expected to be operational by mid 2008. We are also proposing investments potentially at the INEOS owned sites at Antwerp (Belgium), Lavera (France), and Wilhelmshaven (Germany) or Cologne (Germany). Investing at these sites would provide INEOS Enterprises with excellent economies of scale; transport and logistics networks; and opportunities to exploit existing supply/demand synergies. We will build world scale plants using the latest technology to produce high quality products that will be highly competitive in all market conditions. The total investment in expected to be in the order of several hundred million euros.

As part of the world's fastest growing chemicals company, INEOS Enterprises is extremely well placed to make these investments and has an excellent track record of pursuing market opportunities and developing world class businesses. INEOS is well skilled in commissioning and operating low cost, high yield commodity plants and has the size and scale that is essential for success in this business. By building on the ready made synergies with our existing European refining operations, coupled with our existing client base and market contacts, INEOS Enterprises firmly believes that it has the competitive edge and can develop into Europe's premier biodiesel company.

Key benefits of biofuels

Biofuels are sources of energy manufactured from renewable resources. Specifically, biodiesel is an alternative fuel produced from renewable sources such as vegetable oils that can be blended with diesel and used to power conventional diesel engines without modification. It can also be used as a replacement fuel for oil in industrial processes. As a renewable, biodiesel is a 'green' fuel and presents particular environmental benefits over conventional fuels. It is also energy efficient to produce.