Gas to Liquid
Commencement of Operations Started 28/12/2006
The strategy of GTL Resources plc is to produce liquids such as methanol and ethanol from stranded gas, corn and other feedstocks with quality counterparties. GTL manages all aspects of a project: finance, feedstock supply, production and marketing.

In line with its strategy of seeking to develop and exploit markets for alternative fuels, GTL has, since the beginning of 2001, concentrated primarily upon developing methanol projects, principally in Australia, and, more recently, ethanol project work. The Board has recognised the strategic benefits of acquiring a cash generative asset on a shorter time scale than the typical methanol construction time of three years. In furtherance of this strategy, on 6 September 2005 GTL Resources acquired a controlling interest in Illinois River Energy (IRE) to build an ethanol plant at Rochelle, Illinois, through its wholly owned subsidiary, GTL USA, which has been established for the purpose of investing in ethanol projects in the USA. GTL USA has invested in IRE by way of a subscription for units of IRE pursuant to the Unit Purchase Agreement.

This project has the advantage that the Plant is expected to produce revenues on a shorter time scale and at a significantly lower capital cost than the methanol plant in Australia.

The Company intends to further expand within the ethanol industry in the United States or other suitable markets by selective acquisition of low cost production facilities. The Company sees itself as a potential consolidator of ethanol plants in a particularly fragmented market.

FT Tip
GTL Resources, an Aim-listed company. It raised money to build an ethanol plant in the US. Raw materials costs have risen but the price of ethanol has gone through the roof. The earnings potential should be spectacular.

New Plant

Construction started at Rochelle, Illinois site in September and production from the 50 million gallon per annum ethanol plant is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2006. Following unusually mild weather in Illinois the project has progressed well and is on schedule and on budget. Whilst the Companys main efforts centre on the successful delivery of the US ethanol project at Rochelle, the potential expansion of that site to 100 million gallons is being investigated. In addition and consistent
with GTLs stated strategy for the expansion of its interests in the ethanol industry, other ethanol opportunities have also been identified and will be analysed. Pictures Of The Site Under Construction March 27, 2006 http://www.illinoisriverenergy.com/html/construction.html


Arden
http://gtlresources.com/documents/ArdenAnalystResearchNote.pdf
http://www.gtlresources.com/documents/ArdenAnalystResearchNote.pdf
BBC News Item On Ethanol
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_4940000/newsid_4948400/bb_wm_4948456.stm

Ethanol Priceshttp://ethanolmarket.aghost.net/
Ethanol as a Transportation Fuel
http://energy.ca.gov/afvs/vehicle_fact_sheets/ethanol.html

Annual report for 2006
http://www.gtlresources.com/documents/GTLAnnualReport2006_001.pdf
Pics from Ethanol Producer Magazine of GTL's plant.
http://ethanolproducer.com/plant-images.jsp?plant_id=302&image_id=59
Commencement of Operations Started 28/12/2006
http://www.gtlresources.com/
Economics of Ethanol
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-339.pdf
2 July 2007 GTL Resources FY pretax loss narrows, plans 13 mln stg placing to fund expansion
http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200707020705014067Z.html
GTL Web Site
http://www.gtlresources.com/

cynic
Well I care about pretty pixes It looks like the plant is coming along nicely the sp will shoot up when they are in production.

We would have a problem if we saw this posted on the GTL Web Site don't you think.

ah but there's sweet crude in them thar holes!

Lets hope not.

This is starting to look cheap with the plant being built and hopefully finished by the end of this year producing ethanol, with ethanol at record price levels its time to top up.

I agree Driver, but I think this may drop further before the commissioning of the plant and full production, however I am going to add before then.

I wonder why, if yeild for sugarbeet is twice that of maize, why are they using maize?.
Giggin

giggin
It may be the price or a more technical reason.
You might be right on the sp but it's definitely looking cheap at the moment IMO.

giggin - its because they are located in an area where maize is grown - f***in tons of it.

EDIT - From their own website:

Location

The Plant will be built near Rochelle, Illinois. Rochelle is approximately 70 miles west of Chicago. The Rochelle site was selected by IRE based on a number of factors, including the availability and cost of corn, natural gas, water supply and electricity services, transportation costs, permitting requirements, and proximity to certain ethanol markets. The Rochelle, Illinois site has several favourable attributes for locating a large scale ethanol plant there, including:

* an abundant corn supply - Illinois ranks second in US corn production with more than 1.5 billion bushels produced annually; the Plant will initially require 18 million bushels of corn when operating at full capacity;
* close proximity to markets - the Plant is, on its completion, expected to be the closest ethanol plant to Chicago, one of the largest ethanol markets in the United States. The Company intends to exploit, through the good transportation infrastructure which the Plant will enjoy, the potential markets local to the site in Illinois, concentrating on the Chicago/Milwaukee area;
* transportation links - Rochelle is situated on an intersection of mainline rail systems. In addition, the Plant can use Rochelle’s local rail system which connects into the main rail lines without incurring switching fees;
* close proximity to the rail to truck intermodal facility near Rochelle - this should bring significant truck traffic to the area and allow IRE to pick and choose among many possible subcontractors for transporting ethanol and distiller’s grains; and
* the availability of utilities run by the City of Rochelle.

StarFrog
Cheers should have guessed, absolutely surrounded, pic also from their Web Site.

UBS AG increased its stake to 4.04%


Section 198 Companies Act 1985

Pursuant to Section 198 of the Companies Act 1985 we write to inform you that as
at the close of its business on 28th July 2006, UBS AG, acting through its
business group and legal entities detailed below, had an interest in 91,647,667
Ordinary shares of GTL Resources PLC representing 4.04 per cent of the issued
share capital of the Company (2,270,274,516)

None of the Relevant Shares are shares in which UBS AG is interested by virtue
of Section 208(5) of The Act.

UBS business group / legal Breakdown of position held
entity (%)

UBS AG London 91,647,667 shares 4.04%
UBS AG - Total 91,647,667 shares 4.04%

From what percentage?

Potts
Sorry for the delay in replying been watching War Of The Worlds

From 3.03%

thanks , bit of a stupid film I thought. The noises those machines make and the way Cruise just runs past everyone getting zapped.
Had a little effect on the share price but they still seem to be going sideways, any thoughts on when this might change?

Potts
Sideways is OK by me till they go into production top up on the way if you can.

I havent finished the film yet I get bored if I sit around to long, I know what you mean though the zaps always just miss him.

Why did the RNS cause a drop? Surely someone buying up shares should instill confidence?

Just lately I cant work any of this out. Good news drives price down everytime.

maybe some bad news will help then.

should add that this must be a sweet and sour sp?
i like sweet and sour though.

sp is ticking over nicely while the plant is being built, topped up today.

Some big buyers out today. Or some one accumulating.

The plant is coming along very nicely all on time for a Q4 start up I have been topping through out the year, after start up I dont think we will be seeing these prices.

During July 2006

* Delivery of major equipment; boiler, beer column, CO2 scrubber
* Installed CO2 scrubber next to Beerwell
* Completed the NW Fermentation Tank & Commenced erection of the NE Fermentation Tank
* Completed pour of Grain Silo roof
* Continued Process Building equipment and pipe installation
* Continued masonry wall construction in the Process Bldg. & Energy Center
* Completed the Cooling Tower pipe rack erection
* Continued Cooling Tower supply and return piping installation
* Delivered and set the boiler in the Energy Center
* Continued site water and fire water installation
* Commenced permanent site power installation
* Installed structural steel, siding and roofing for the Maintenance Building
* Moved into the new Administration Building
* Commenced formwork and pouring for the Receiving Building foundation
* Installed the Tank Farm liner and stone
* Poured Tank Farm foundations and commenced erecting tanks

As of August 2006 the overall work continues to progress on time and
on budget. The project is on course for a quarter four 2006 start up.

http://www.gtlresources.com/ethanol_projects.htm