December 31, 2013

DekelOil Public Limited, operator and 51% owner of an established, vertically integrated palm oil project in Côte d'Ivoire, provided a positive update on its operations including excellent progress towards final commissioning of its 60 tonnes/hour crude palm oil ('CPO') extraction mill. 

The Mill is on course to become fully operational and generate first revenues in February 2014, at which point it will become one of West Africa's largest with a capacity to produce 70,000 tonnes per annum.

DekelOil Executive Director Lincoln Moore said, "2014 will be a transformational year for DekelOil as we focus on generating material revenues from CPO production during the peak harvesting season between March and June, following a thorough soft commissioning phase.  Achieving this exciting milestone within a year of listing on AIM will set us apart from many of our peers within the junior palm oil market, and this announcement highlights the strong progress we continue to make with regards to the construction of the mill and the implementation of our critical logistics plans. Further moves are in place with regards to negotiating off-take contracts and employing key personnel to oversee our operations, and we look forward to providing regular updates in the coming weeks as we unlock future value milestones and move towards becoming a leading, vertically integrated West African palm oil company."

DekelOil is pleased to announce the construction phase of the mill is nearing completion of technical tests. The kernel crushing facility has been tested and is running smoothly and the reception area at the mill, which has been designed to be twice the size of those at traditional 70,000 tonnes per annum mills for efficiency purposes, has been completed.

With this in mind, soft commissioning is on track to commence on January 1, 2014 and the mill will be fully operational in February ahead of the peak harvest season which commences in March and runs till June 2014.

It has completed recruitment of all mill operational management and most of the mill's operational team. Initial feedstock for the mill will be secured from feedstock from 5,000 farmers, which farm land covering 27,000 hectares surrounding the company's primary project.

Additionally, the company is undertaking detailed planning with local cooperatives.  This is focussed on enabling the adequate and efficient delivery of feedstock from local smallholders to the mill. In line with its strategy to build a major, asset-backed West African palm oil company, the company's portfolio includes an operational world-class nursery with an annual capacity of one million seedlings; 27,000 hectares of mature plantations secured via agreements with 5,000 local smallholders and cooperatives; and 1,900 hectares of company-owned estates.