Statoil in Denmark and Inbicon – DONG Energy’s technology company that develops technology in order to produce bioethanol – today signed a sales contract for the delivery of second-generation bioethanol to Statoil. Under the contract, Statoil will purchase the first five million litres of Inbicon’s bioethanol.

The bioethanol will be produced at Inbicon’s demonstration plant near Asnæs Power Station in Kalundborg, which is under construction. The purpose behind the demonstration plant is to show that second-generation bioethanol can be produced on industrial terms on the basis on Inbicon’s technology. In 2006, Statoil was the first company in Denmark to offer its customers petrol mixed with bioethanol, and Statoil therefore has shown interest in buying the first production from the new plant.

“Statoil is the first and so far only oil company to have been offering Danish motorists a petrol and bioethanol mix, for three years in a row. We are showing our commitment yet again and pushing the development by concluding this contract on purchase of the first second-generation bioethanol in Denmark", says Pia Bach Henriksen, Statoil CEO, continuing: "The contract is yet another example that Statoil’s ambition to deliver sustainable biofuels is a genuine objective that we are actively working towards.”

Niels Henriksen, CEO of Inbicon, says about the contract:
"We are very pleased to have Statoil as a purchaser of our second-generation bioethanol. The contract shows that the market sees great value in the product, and that it can be sold at additional charge, compared to traditional ethanol. However, it is a shame that, due to regulatory limitations, there is no basis for production of second generation bioethanol on a larger scale in Denmark. The use of straw for power and heating is favoured considerably compared to if the straw is used for the production of bioethanol."

Second-generation bioethanol is produced on the basis of residual products from agriculture and forestry unlike first-generation bioethanol, which is produced from products also used used for food products such as maize, wheat and sugar beet.

Inbicon’s plant in Kalundborg uses straw as raw material and will be producing 5.4 million litres of bioethanol annually. Besides bioethanol, the plant will produce 8,250 tonnes of fuel pellets annually that can be used as fuel at CHP plants and 11,100 tonnes of animal feed.

Facts about Statoil
Statoil supplies around one fifth of Denmark's total oil consumption and operates more than 300 petrol stations in Denmark, including approx. one fifth automat stations under the 1-2-3 brand. The company's Kalundborg refinery refines oil products, which are either exported or sold in Denmark for use as, for example, transportation fuel or heating oil for private home and commercial property.
Fakta om Inbicon
Inbicon A/S is a company developing technology for producing ethanol, fuel and animal feed of non-tree based biomass. Inbicon has operated a pilot plant since 2003 in Skærbæk at Fredericia, Denmark and is presently constructing a demonstration plant in Kalundborg, Denmark. The plant will convert wheat straw into ethanol, feed and lignin pellets and is scheduled to be in operation from the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December 2009. Inbicon is a subsidiary of DONG Energy A/S. For further information see www.inbicon.com

For further information, contact:

Statoil
Per Brinch, PR and Communication Director
+45 3342 4227

DONG Energy
Ulrik Frøhlke, Media Relations
+45 9955 9560