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Lootah Biofuels strengthens Maldives presence

By Gavin Gibbon
Lootah workers inspect the machines that turn used cooking oil into biofuel Lootah Biofuels
Lootah workers inspect the machines that turn used cooking oil into biofuel

Dubai’s Lootah Biofuels has signed a deal with Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts to provide and supply biodiesel and deliver waste cooking oil recycling services in the Maldives.

The agreement also supports the collection and recycling of used cooking oil from luxury resorts, hotels, restaurants and households to produce biodiesel.

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation found net carbon emissions fell 20 percent using a vegetable oil biofuel blend compared with very low sulphur fuel oil in a trial for a dual-fuel liquefied petroleum gas carrier, the centre said this week.

Global demand for biofuels is set to grow by 41 billion litres, or 28 percent, between 2021-2026, according to the International Energy Agency.

It is the second agreement Lootah Biofuels has signed this year with entities from the South Asian islands.

In May a deal was signed with state-owned Fenaka Corporation, a company serving the island communities of the Maldives, to establish its first biofuel plant outside the UAE.

The Republic of Maldives, a chain of atolls in the Indian Ocean, has launched several projects aimed at combating the effects of climate change as most of its islands are located just above sea level and threatened by rising temperatures.

Since its establishment in 2010, Lootah Biofuels, which is valued at $15 million, has been supplying the commercial fleets of large companies with biofuel that is cheaper than conventional diesel. 

It operates seven private biofuel stations in Dubai and Sharjah and plans to open a facility in Abu Dhabi this year.

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