##Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), through its Italian subsidiary Q8 Italia, on 16 March said it had signed a deal to buy 50% of Italian biodiesel producer EcoFox for an unspecified sum. Kuwait’s Oil Ministry says the deal is “in line with the goals of reducing carbon emissions in fuels.” KPI, which operates fuel stations under the Q8 brand, is KPC’s global downstream marketing arm with a chain of retail outlets in Italy and elsewhere as well as stakes in Sicily’s 248,000 b/d Milazzo refinery (50%), Vietnam’s 200,000 b/d Nghi Son plant (35.1%) and Oman’s 230,000 b/d Duqm refinery (50%).
Kuwait is increasingly able to market its own fuels through Q8 in Europe after refinery upgrades have enabled it to produce Euro V compliant fuels (MEES, 15 March & MEES, 15 March). This latest acquisition should provide a further boost, with biofuels increasingly blended into transport fuels in the EU. EcoFox is based in Vasto in southern Italy and owns a 200,000 t/y plant producing vegetable oil derived biodiesels, bio-liquids for co-generation and other byproducts. The firm is owned by Fox Petroli and is connected by pipeline to Vasto’s port.## (CONTINUED - 187 WORDS)