Company Update : Noble Group Develops Ethanol Plants in USA

Noble Group (NOBL: SGX), a global supply chain manager of agricultural, industrial and energy products, has announced that the first ethanol plant under construction by MABE, a Nebraska based holding company specializes in the development of ethanol plants. The 44 million gallon plant located in Madrid, Nebraska is expected to reach mechanical completion by December 2006. Senior lenders to the Madrid plant are lead by Societe Generale, for whom this project represents the first ethanol transaction in the USA.
Noble, a shareholder of MABE, is the assigned marketer of all ethanol output produced by the Madrid plant as well as any new projects including the development of a new ethanol plant to be based in Cambridge, Nebraska. Noble's investment in MABE is US$6.5 million “We have been building this business for several years and are well placed to capitalize on the emergence of alternative energies such as ethanol which has been positively affected by the passing of the US Government Energy Bill last year and the transformation of agricultural products such as corn, wheat, barley and sugar to fuel,” says Fabrizio Zichichi, Noble’s US based Executive Vice President of Clean Oil Products.
In concert with its CBOT market maker status for the ethanol futures contract, Noble is integrating a global ethanol expansion - sourcing and merchandising in the World markets including Brazil and China.
As early as January 2007 Noble will be distributing in the US ethanol market, volumes in excess of 200 million gallons per year. The Group has over one billion gallons in off-take agreements signed for plants under development and is actively seeking to finalize additional contracts.
This transaction is not material for the purposes of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited Listing Rules.



Announcement excerpted from:
http://info.sgx.com/webcorannc.nsf
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