Australia's Mission NewEnergy acquires 70% of Oleovest

Mission NewEnergy of Australia has bought into the Singapore-based company Oleovest, which is involved in palm oil and biodiesel projects in Indonesia. Mission NewEnergy now has an 85% stake in Oleovest, which owns 70% of PT Sinergi Oleo Nusantara, a joint venture with Indonesia’s PT Perkebunan Nusantara III, which owns the remaining 30%. Sinergi Oleo Nusantara has plans to build a US$200 million palm oil and oleochemical complex at Perkebunan Nusantara’s Sei Mangkei site in North Sumatra. The project will require US$140 million in debt and US$60 million in equity before construction of the complex can begin. During the first stage of the project, a a 600,000 metric ton/year (mt/y) edible oil refinery, a 250,000 mt/year biodiesel plant and a 100,000 mt/year fatty alcohol plant will be built. Mission NewEnergy said it will invest US$3 million to acquire a stake in Oleovest and to fund the initial operations of the joint venture. The project is to be completed within three years. Mission NewEnergy is a biodiesel producer and jatropha plantation company, with a total capacity to produce 105 million gallons a year of biodiesel. It has operations in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. (February 19, 2012)