Oswal quits US$300 million ethanol venture

Oswal Group has pulled out of a US$300 million joint venture to produce fuel-grade ethanol at East Rockingham Industrial Park, located immediately adjacent to the Kwinana Industrial Area, 40 km south of Perth. Oswal Group, based in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, owns Perth-based Burrup Fertilisers Pty Ltd, one of the world’s largest ammonia production facilities. According to WestPetro Managing Director Colette Menegola, Grainol, which is Oswal’s joint venture partner in WestPetro, has acquired full ownership of the project, and was in negotiations with grain accumulators over securing an annual feedstock requirement of 500,000 tons. Menegola said the project was on track for plant construction to begin by the middle of next year. “Because we require so much grain, we need to have agreements with about 1,200 to 1,500 farmers and the logistics of doing that is too much,” Menegola said. (August 21, 2009)