Green Fuels JV starts on Oman biodiesel plant

UK-based biodiesel technology and equipment supplier Green Fuels is starting construction on a 7,000 t/yr biodiesel plant in Oman's Khazaen economic city with its joint venture Wakud International, aiming for a start-up in next year's second quarter.

The plant will initially manufacture biodiesel from domestic used cooking oil collections, planning to expand into sustainable aviation fuel production within four to five years once stable feedstock supplies have been achieved. Its output will largely be consumed by the energy sector, displacing fossil fuel diesel used for decentralised power production.

Incubator and venture capital firm ProtoStar and Wakud International chief executive Maher Al Habsi will work with Green Fuels as it transitions from a technology provider to operating facilities.

The Omani government has been examining potential avenues for harnessing renewable energy since disruptions to its power infrastructure in 2009 and 2010. A biodiesel blending mandate is likely to emerge in the future, according to Green Fuels chief executive James Hygate, although neither the transport sector nor industry currently implements this.

The project aims to provide renewable energy primarily for domestic use rather than intercontinental trade as there is a "genuine sustainability driver" behind the venture, said Hygate.

By Lauren Moffitt