(11/05/07) Appointment of West LB

GTL Resources plc, the project development company focused on ethanol production in the US, is pleased to announce that, following discussions with a number of potential lenders, it has appointed West LB AG as the lead arranger of senior debt for the financing of the expansion of its ethanol plant at Rochelle, Illinois, USA. The New York based team of West LB is a leader in the financing of US ethanol projects. The Company will now progress the agreement of terms with West LB for the debt funding requirement related to the expansion.

Construction of the first 50 million gallon plant at Rochelle was completed in December 2006 and the Company announced in March 2007 that the proposed expansion of the plant to 100 million gallons production per annum is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2007. The plant is operated by Illinois River Energy (IRE), GTL's 85% owned US subsidiary.

Comments on the appointment

Commenting on the appointment, Michael Pantelogianis of West LB said:
“We are very pleased to have been selected by GTL and are looking forward to working on this excellent project.”

Peter Middleton, Chairman of GTL, added:
“This is another milestone towards achieving the expansion of our ethanol plant in Rochelle. We have a high regard for West LB and look forward to working with the team to secure the necessary debt to support the financing of the doubling in size of our existing plant and benefiting from West LB’s expertise in financing Ethanol projects .”

For further information, please contact:

GTL Resources plc
Peter Middleton, Executive Chairman Tel: 020 7958 1685
Michael Brennan, Finance Director Tel: 01642 794 000

Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Charles Ryland/Nick Melson/Ben Romney

 

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