Dekel Agri Regulatory News (DKL)

7.00am on 25 March 2013

DekelOil Public Limited / Index: AIM / Epic: DKL / ISIN: CY0103462210 / Sector: Food Producers

DekelOil Public Limited ('DekelOil' or 'the Company')

Operations Update

DekelOil Public Limited, operator and 51% owner of an established vertically integrated palm oil project ('the Project') in the Côte d'Ivoire, is pleased to provide a positive update on its operations in line with its strategy to become a major, asset-backed West African palm oil company.

Following the arrival of the 60 tphr Crude Palm Oil extraction ('CPO') Mill ('the Mill') at Abidjan port, Côte d'Ivoire on 9 March 2013, the Company confirms that the Mill has now been cleared by the customs authorities. As a result, the transfer of the equipment to the Project site at Ayanouan has commenced. 

Under the terms of the turn-key contract, the team from Modipalm Engineering SDN BHD ('Modipalm'), a leading Malaysian engineering company, has now assumed responsibility for the construction of the Mill with our supervisory support. With a capacity to produce 70,000 tonnes per annum, the Mill will be one of West Africa's largest once it becomes operational at the end of this year. 

Dekeloil Executive Director, Lincoln Moore, said "We are delighted that the Mill is now en route to the site at Ayanouan, ahead of its construction and installation by Modipalm. In the meantime, we will concentrate our efforts on building the logistics programme to deliver the fruit from the 27,000 hectares under our various service agreements with the smallholders and cooperatives and from the 1,886 hectares of Company owned estates. We also hope to be in a position to shortly confirm the placing of the contract for the effluent treatment facility which will then be the last piece of the jigsaw at our Mill site. We remain on target to commence operations of the Mill by the end of the year and look forward to providing further updates on the Mill's progress in due course."

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For further information please visit the Company's website www.dekeloil.com or contact:

Notes

DekelOil Public Limited is an asset backed, palm oil production and development company focused on becoming a major West African sustainable, low cost producer of Crude Palm Oil ('CPO'). DekelOil plans to rapidly expand its existing palm oil estates in the Côte d'Ivoire as well as what will be, once construction has been completed by the end of this year, one of the largest oil processing mills in West Africa with a capacity of 70,000 tons of Crude Palm Oil ('CPO') per annum. The mill is due to commence operations and generate first revenues in 2014. DekelOil already has 1,886 hectares of planted plantations but until these mature, initial feedstock for the mill will originate from 27,000 hectares of mature palm oil plantations that have been secured under long term contracts with smallholders.