New York Times Spotlights OriginOil’s Comments on Major Exxon Algae Investment

CEO Riggs Eckelberry Says Oil Giant’s Move Points To Algae’s Potential To Overtake Petroleum

Los Angeles, CA – July 14, 2009 – OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL), the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, commented on today’s announcement by Exxon Mobil (ExxonMobil) of a long-term partnership with algae research company, Synthetic Genomics.

In an article by its Greenwire affiliate, the New York Times quoted CEO Riggs Eckelberry’s remarks: “A couple years ago, the petroleum institute said there’s only [twenty] years left for oil, and now they’re really finally acting on that… Algae is the feedstock to overtake petroleum. It’s the real alternative to petroleum.”
(Click http://bit.ly/XHTml for full article.)

Simultaneously, Eckelberry’s commentary was also featured in Biodiesel Magazine, where he stated, “Algae is now being validated as a legitimate feedstock. It is going to have a long-term outlook with an investment like this.”

In other remarks, Riggs Eckelberry said: “Our own focus is on building the industrial platform for producing any type of algae and we welcome large-scale research into new strains.” The $600 million partnership between Exxon Mobil and Synthetic Genomics plans to genetically engineer new strains of algae.

Speaking at a renewable energy conference held at the United Nations on June 11, CEO Eckelberry outlined a plan to overtake petroleum. He warned that without a new approach, petroleum could remain strong until 2060. (Video at http://bit.ly/asHXN.)

“In the world’s planning for renewable energy, the tendency has been to follow old-school energy thinking which focuses on large, centralized facilities,” Eckelberry continued. “OriginOil believes the solution is networked and distributed, and based on large-scale information sharing.” He continued, “We know that entrepreneurs worldwide want to start making biofuels now for their local communities and industries. That’s the model of the future – we call it ‘mushrooms after the rain’.”