25 Jan 2010 07:00
25 January 2010
Nature Group Plc
("Nature" or the "Group")
Signing of Two New Licences
Nature Group Plc, a provider of port reception facilities and waste water treatment solutions for the oil, marine and process industries, is pleased to announce that its port waste and environmental treatment subsidiary in Gibraltar, Nature Port Reception Facilities Ltd ("NPRF"), has signed 2 additional transshipment licences for the transportation of oil slops and wastewater to the Group's facility in Gibraltar, which has the throughput and storage capability to handle up to 200,000m3 of slops and wastewater per annum.
A one year transshipment licence has been signed with the principal port oil waste collection group in the Port of Malta and approved by the Gibraltar and Maltese environmental agencies. This provides for up to 28,000m3 of oil wastes to be transported to Gibraltar in 2010, subject to the requirements in Malta for offload from the tank storage used for waste oil reception.
In addition, the Spanish port of Ceuta, on the North African coast opposite Gibraltar, has contracted with EcoCeuta (the principal waste collection group in Ceuta) and NPRF for the provision of oil waste services to vessels visiting Ceuta port for a term of five years. This agreement provides for collected oil wastes of up to 12,000m3 per annum to be transshipped to NPRF in Gibraltar. Suitable reception tankage and facilities have been invested in by NPRF in conjunction with EcoCeuta in recent months.
In 2009 the Group processed approximately 67,000m3 of oil waste waters at its facility in Gibraltar. This was received through the Nature port slops service within the Port of Gibraltar, the transshipment of oil wastes from the Canary Islands and the collection of tanker washings from vessels passing through the Straits of Gibraltar.
Commenting on this development, Richard Eldridge, Chairman and CEO of Nature, said:
"We are delighted with the further extension of our "outreach" policy in the Western Mediterranean and Atlantic region represented by these licence arrangements. Together, these new agreements could increase the amount processed annually by up to 40,000m3 (subject to actual volumes received) which would significantly increase the revenue generated by the Group."
For further information, please contact:
| Richard Eldridge | Nature Group Plc | 01841 533611 |
| Darren Laguea | Nature Group Plc | (350) 200 73905 |
| Antony Legge / Avi Robinson | Astaire Securities Plc | 020 7448 4400 |
| Chris Steele / Trevor Phillips | Hermes Financial PR | 07979 604687 |