Repsol YPF to Build Biodiesel Plant in Argentina

11 January 2006

Repsol YPF, one of the ten major private oil companies in the world and the largest private energy company in Latin America, will invest US$30 million to build a biodiesel plant in a suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Spanish-Argentinian petroleum company hopes to become the first major biodiesel producer in Argentina.

The plant is expected to produce 120,000 cubic meters (about 31.7 million gallons or 755,000 barrels) of biodiesel per year, which will initially be used to create B5 (a 5% blend). In the future, the company will move to B10.

Construction of the biodiesel plant will begin in 2006 in Ensenada (a suburb of Buenos Aires); the plant should be operating at full capacity by the end of 2007.

Biodiesel is not taxed in Argentina, unlike fuels that are derived from petroleum. Combined with its lower production cost, biodiesel looks very attractive for Argentinians from an economic point of view alone.