|
NEWS RELEASE Woodside Petroleum Ltd. A.C.N. 004 898 962 1 Adelaide Terrace PERTH WA, 6000 Oil Mallee Company A.C.N. 079 355 445 Suite 204 6 Cliff St Fremantle, WA, 6160 Friday December 22, 2000 Woodside and Oil Mallee Company Launch Joint Venture Woodside Energy Ltd. and the Oil Mallee Company of Western Australia today jointly announced plans to cooperate in the development of business based on oil mallee planting in Western Australia and beyond. The first phase of this plan is to establish a one million tree oil mallee crop in the Esperance region and to develop a mallee harvester. Woodside will initiallyinitially contribute $550,000 to thise first phase.stage of the project, which is intended to support a renewable energy bid to power the Esperance region. In return, Woodside wouldwill be able to access utiliseuse theis oil mallee biomass (finely chipped plant material) for its a proposed Esperance power station and may buy obtain future carbon credits from existing mallee plantations under an agreement to be negotiated with the growers and the Oil Mallee Company. .A Woodside/Energy Equity consortium has included a bioenergy facility as part of its proposal in the recent Esperance power supply bid process undertaken by the WA Office of Energy. "The development of an energy and carbon sink business based around oil mallee plantations is a win for the entire community," WoodsideÕs Business Development Director, Mr Richard Beresford, said today. This sentiment was echoed by Professor Syd Shea, Chairman of Oil Mallee Company, who praised Woodside's role as visionary and community minded. |
"We are very encouraged to see a company like Woodside investing in the future of WA by putting these resources into development of an industry that will also result in immense environmental benefits, such as combating salinity and erosion in the State's wheatbelt, reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, producing biomass fuel for energy use and supporting biodiversity in the south of the State," Dr Professor Shea said. Native to the drier areas of WA, oil mallees are family members of the eucalypts family from which eucalyptus oil can be extracted. However, Woodside is looking further ahead to the time when rows of these trees stretching across the WA Wheatbelt can be used to supply clean, renewable energy and at the same time combating dryland salinity. "A Woodside/Energy Equity consortium has proposed to establish a bioenergy facility in the recent Esperance power supply bid process undertaken by the WA Office of Energy," Mr Beresford said. Last week Energy Minister Colin Barnett announced that Woodside Energy and Energy Equity were on the shortlist for the supply of power to Esperance with the only renewable based bid. Professor Shea also paid tribute to the past research work done by the Department of Conservation And Land Management and the Oil Mallee Company on improving the genetics and management of mallee species.and in establishing the best growing conditions. "The global future of energy supply will mean an increasing reliance on low carbon emission and renewable energy sources," Mr Beresford said. "Woodside already has a considerable stake in some of these energy technologies and the addition of oil mallee-based bioenergy to this technology suiteportfolio will mean better opportunities for off-grid renewable energy supply in WA and beyond." Woodside
Contacts: Oil Mallee Contacts: Media Inquiries: Investor
Inquiries: |