Nafta Lendava to Build Biggest Biodiesel Refinery in Slovenia
Oil refinery Nafta Lendava and its Austrian partner CMB Maschinenbau & Handels announced on Thursday they would build the biggest biodiesel refinery in Slovenia and one of the biggest refineries of the kind in Europe.
The EUR 22.2m refinery will open in the beginning of 2008, and its annual production of 60,000 tonnes of biodiesel will amount to 88% of the total production in Slovenia, and 1% of the total EU production.
The presentation of the project in Lendava was attended by Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and Environment Minister Janez Podobnik.
Vizjak said that energy was the key foundation for the economy, especially in the EU. The bloc relies on imports for 50% of its energy needs and for 82% of its oil needs, a figure which will reach 93% by 2030.
Accoding to Vizjak, the problem could be solved with projects which reduce Europe's dependence on imported energy. The European Commission had already adopted provisions aimed at increasing the use of renewable sources from 7% to 20% by 2020, he added.
The introduction of biofuels in Slovenia and the EU is a strategic project, because energy dependence puts Europe in an unfavourable and uncertain position, Podobnik said.
The directors of Nafta Lendava subsidiary Nafta Biodizel and the Austrian partner said that the project would reduce Slovenia's dependence on imported mineral fuels and increase the use of alternative energy sources.
The refinery will create 23 new and 50 indirect jobs, while the laboratory for testing other oils for potential biodiesel production will also feature an education centre.
About 60,000 tonnes of vegetable oil and 6,000 tonnes of methanol will be refined in the yearly biodiesel production, which be 7.5 times higher than the total production in Slovenia in 2005.
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