British Biofuel Firm's Future Uncertain

D1 Oils faces an uncertain future after announcing losses of £33.6m for the year ended Dec 31st 2008, and saying it does not expect to make a profit in the next two trading years.

The company closed two refining sites in Bromborough and Middlesbrough last year, to concentrate on a joint venture with BP to develop jatropha into a replacement for food crops as a source of biodiesel.

D1 now says that it is as in talks with BP to dissolve the joint venture, and that “developing the business beyond the end of 2010 will require a capital injection, which constitutes a material uncertainty. If the fundraising is not successful then there would be significant doubt about the group's capability, in its current form, to continue as a going concern.”

The firm is still trying to sell it's Bromborough refinery, which was only operational for less than eighteen months.