Abengoa Bioenergy reportedly closes US plants, headquarters

The US biofuels arm of troubled Spanish group Abengoa SA (BME:ABG) is on the verge of closing its corporate headquarters in Chesterfield, Missouri, and ceasing ethanol production in the country, according to media reports.

Spanish news website Andalucia Informacion last week said that Abengoa Bioenergy had decided to end activities at seven US plants. According to a separate report by that media, the company has already ceased operations at the Hugoton facility in Kansas that opened last year.

Local newspaper The Garden City Telegram reported that the closing of the Hugoton plant has already resulted in dozens of job losses. Neal Gillespie, Stevens County Economic Development director, told the paper that about 50 workers have already been laid off, with just six keeping their jobs for now.

The Hugoton biorefinery, which was inaugurated in October 2014, differs from other such plants because it produces second-generation ethanol, using non-edible agricultural crop residues, such as stalks and leaves.

The company’s other facility in Kansas is facing similar fate, according to the reports.

The news comes after the firm’s debt-laden parent initiated insolvency proceedings in late November, after failing to secure a much-needed investment.

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