Russell Caplan, Chairman of Shell in Australia, said “Through the launch of our E10 fuel today and our roll-out plans, we are on track to be the leading supplier of ethanol blended fuels in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT by the third quarter of next year.” “Initially the fuel will be available at selected Coles Express service stations in Brisbane and Canberra, and we are planning to roll-out Shell Unleaded E10 to a network of service stations right across the Eastern seaboard in 2007.” Coles Express General Manager Peter Short said, “Coles Express is very pleased to launch Shell Unleaded E10. Importantly for our customers, we will be launching this high quality product at an introductory price of three cents less than regular unleaded at the selected Coles Express stores in Brisbane and Canberra.” In 2005, Shell launched Shell Optimax Extreme (replaced by Shell V-Power Racing in October 2006) a world first 100-octane fuel, formulated with 5% ethanol. Shell V-Power Racing is the official fuel for the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship series and is available exclusively at around 50 Coles Express service stations in Victoria, NSW, QLD and the ACT. Where Shell V-Power Racing currently has the highest octane rating in the Australian retail fuels market, new Shell Unleaded E10 with Fuel Economy Formula is aimed at consumers who want value and the assurance of Shell quality fuels. New Shell Unleaded E10 contains 10% ethanol, which is cleaner burning and can help to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Caplan said, “Putting the right infrastructure in place to ensure safe handling and delivery of a consistently high quality fuel to consumers is expensive. The Federal Government’s Ethanol Distribution Program and the Queensland Governments ethanol conversion initiative are very important in facilitating the wider roll out of ethanol blend fuels.” “In particular, we would like to thank the Queensland Government for their grant of $782,000 under the Queensland Ethanol Conversion Initiative (QECI) scheme. The grant is important in facilitating the construction of storage and blending facilities at Shell’s terminal in Brisbane as well as the conversion of retail sites to enable the launch of Shell Unleaded E10.” Along with supply from CSR, Shell has also signed contracts with Australian ethanol producer Manildra for the purchase of up to 40 million litres of ethanol during 2007. This is believed to be the largest volume contract for fuel ethanol ever signed in Australia. Managing Director of the Manildra Group, Mr John Honan said, “Manildra is proud to be associated with Shell's launch of Shell Unleaded E10. Manildra welcomes Shell's support of ethanol and the biofuels industry and commends Shell on making this product available to the consumer.” Mr Caplan comments, “The launch of Shell Unleaded E10 is a further demonstration of Shell’s commitment to the Federal Government’s 350 million litres biofuels target by 2010. We are beyond talking about targets – we’re out there working to meet them.” For more details on Shell Unleaded E10, please visit  www.shell.com.au/E10
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