USBioDiesel Group to Open Production Plants in Texas and California

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- USBioDiesel Group LLC, a national biodiesel refining and trading company headquartered in San Francisco, will open its first production facility in May 2008 in Seabrook, TX, in Houston Ship Channel. Plans are underway for a second plant in Stockton, California.

USBioDiesel Group's mission is to provide high-quality, low-carbon biofuels at competitive prices to the global liquid fuels industry. USBioDiesel Group adheres to whole system sustainability principles -- from the seed to the refinery gate, USBioDiesel Group works to ensure that each operational step is sustainable. The company combines a portfolio of strategically located assets with disciplined risk management and asset-backed trading.

USBioDiesel Group raised nearly $100 million from private equity in its Series A equity round which closed in July 2007. Its primary investors include U.S. Renewables Group, a leading private equity renewable investment fund; ED&F Man, a major international commodity trading company; Ohana Holdings, an Omidyar Family investment fund, and Supreme Oil, a division of Admiration Foods, one of the largest U.S. soybean oil buyers.

    USBioDiesel Group has strategic alliances with:

    -- Lansing Trading Company for domestic feedstock supply and biodiesel
       merchandising, and
    -- ED&F Man for sustainable palm oil feedstock, glycerin offtake and
       international biodiesel trading.

The Group's 35-million-gallon per year biodiesel refining facility, Houston BioDiesel, at the LBC terminal in Seabrook, TX, will be commissioned this spring. USBioDiesel Group's second production plant will be at the Port of Stockton, CA. USBioDiesel Group's state-of-the-art facilities meet current and proposed U.S. and European quality standards.

"US Renewables Group believes in the long-run importance of biodiesel to global energy supply," Jim McDermott, CEO of US Renewables Group, said. "We are committed to making USBioDiesel Group one of the nation's leading companies. We have a great team with a different strategy to lead the way."

The USBioDiesel Group management team has more than 100 years of collective experience in the petroleum, power, chemicals and renewable energy sectors. Chief Executive Officer Kyle Datta was formerly a partner at Booz Allen & Hamilton's energy practice and managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a leading non-government organization (NGO). President Richard Chow has led development, merger and acquisition for several energy companies, including Energy Works, a Bechtel-PacifiCorp joint venture. Chief Technology Officer Tim Maneely, an oleochemical industry veteran, was founder of Superior Process Technologies, a leading biodiesel technology company.

"USBioDiesel Group is applying the petroleum fuels business model, coupled with whole system sustainability principles, to the biodiesel industry," USBioDiesel Group's CEO Kyle Datta said. "To lower logistics costs, our assets are located close to the fuels customer on coastal oil terminals at the nation's major refinery hubs."

"Our business partners, ED&F Man, Lansing and Supreme Oil, are leaders in commodities trading, logistics and risk management. Thus, we are designed to prosper during the inevitable industry cycles," Datta added.

Bill Krueger, president and CEO of Lansing, said, "USBioDiesel Group has developed a differentiated broad strategic market approach. It has experienced personnel and proven approaches to risk management and logistics. The leaders of both organizations are intensely focused on the deployment of a high quality, successful model for biodiesel production and distribution. We see our organizations working very well together."

Paul Chatterton, managing director of ED&F Man Biofuels agreed, "USBioDiesel Group focuses its development on key U.S. coastal markets, are positioned to use different feedstocks and sell its biodiesel to both domestic and international markets. This complements our activities. We look forward to working with USBioDiesel Group on supply of palm oil and offtake and marketing of the glycerin and biodiesel produced from its plants."

"The global biodiesel industry is at a crossroads and will undergo a major consolidation this year," said Kyle Datta. "USBioDiesel Group will be one of the long-term winners in this rationalization."