The Kisumu Ethanol Plant is now to be run by a new subsidiary of its majority owner Canada's Energem Resources Inc. The subsidiary, Energem Biofuels, will be charged with boosting production.
Energem Resources holds a 55 per cent stake in the Kisumu Ethanol Plant.
Previously, the plant fell under Energem's logistics and supply division. Placing of the Kisumu facility under the new subsidiary is part of a reorientation, Energem says, that will see the Canadian firm focus its business on the midstream oil and gas infrastructure and biofuels sectors.
The reorganisation will also optimise the firm's business outlook and help raise its market value. Currently, the company's shares at the Toronto Stock Exchange are undervalued.
"The review examined the options available to the company for a restructuring, repackaging and relaunch of Energem in a form that would be more functionally effective, with respect to unlocking value in the equity markets," Energem said in a statement last week.
"The company believes that its core sectors have enormous potential and scalability across Africa," it added.
Two months ago, Energem announced that the Kisumu plant had resumed full capacity production following a closure in December 2006. Energem had shut down the plant to carry out modifications and maintenance in light of the limited availability of molasses feedstock at the time.
Production was restarted in the third week of January, picking up to the full capacity - 60,000 litres of potable alcohol per day - by February.
The bulk of the alcohol is sold to secondary manufacturers in the Kenyan market, although Kep has started exporting to Uganda and Rwanda.
According to Energem, the prices of potable alcohol recorded this year are better than last year's, while molasses feedstock availability may improve following good rains in western Kenya's sugar growing region.
Last week, Energem said the enhanced performance of its Kisumu facility had confirmed projections that the plant could serve as the linchpin of its bio-products line on the continent.
The imminent positioning of the Kisumu plant as a major biofuels producer in the region comes at a time when interest in clean fuels has risen globally.
Proponents of biofuels say that their increased usage would lead to a lower rate of global warming, as they release lower quantities of greenhouse gases. This argument has seen the European Union set a target of using biofuels in 10 per cent of its cars by 2020, creating a large potential market for the fuels.
However, some experts have cautioned that widespread adoption of biofuels could have far-reaching effects on global food security as agricultural areas are turned into fuel sources. Adoption of biofuels could also speed up global warming as rainforests, especially in regions such as South America and Central Africa, are cleared to make way for fuel crops. Rainforests mop up greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
Apart from its Kenyan interests, Energem has mining and energy interests in at least 10 African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Its ventures include diamond mining and mineral exploration, mid and upstream oil and gas projects, and infrastructure. Energem also owns and manages a bitumen emulsions manufacturing factory in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Recently, the company provided the procurement and logistics infrastructure necessary for the re-establishment of the Koidu diamond mine in Sierra Leone and the construction of oil storage and distribution facilities in Nigeria and Malawi.
Source : allafrica.com
No comments:
Post a Comment