Bio-Asia
July 14, 2007
CHINA: Government already implementing no-food-for-ethanol policy
Concerned about the effect of ethanol demand on corn prices, the Chinese government has already implemented a freeze on new corn ethanol plants, online GrainNet quotes a statement from US-based National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman. As a consequence, any new ethanol facilities in China will have to use non-food feedstocks.
According to Tolman, aggravating the matter are the high meat prices due to disease issues in China's swine and poultry sectors. The government wanted to keep corn prices at bay to make supplies available for the livestock industry.
The government, however, has allowed corn-based ethanol plants already in operation which have earlier been approved by the government, to move forward with production. Non-approval by the government would mean that the facility will have to be shut down. As a consequence, new plants can only be built if they use non-food feedstocks.
CHINA: Biodiesel demand to exceed domestic production by 2010
China's biodiesel demand is expected to reach 1 million tonnes in 2010, which is 20% more than the country's expected domestic biodiesel production volume, Interfax (China) cites a report by the National Grain and Oil Information Center.
The figure contrasts with last year's
s biodiesel output of only about 300,000 tonnes, as production was affected by a shortage of raw materials. Biodiesel is being strictly controlled by the government, as price fluctuations among biodiesel feedstock such as edible oils have been affecting the country's consumer price index.
Analysts, however, foresee that the strain upon edible oils is not expected to be severe as alternatives are being introduced such as mass planting of the non-edible Jatropha nuts.
CHINA: Biofuels up commodity prices, alleviate farmers' plight
The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency, has reported that the average purchase and distribution prices for food commodities such as rice, wheat and corn increased in June from the previous month owing to rising interest on bioenergy, reports China Daily.
The national average purchase and distribution price of rice, wheat, and corn, the feedstock of choice for ongoing ethanol plants in China, have both grown by 0.9 percent to 76.8 yuan and 79.7 yuan per 50 kilograms respectively. In wholesale markets, the prices for the commodities plus soybean have grown by 2 to 17.6 percent over the same period of last year.
Rising world demand for corn and soybeans to produce biofuels was cited as the main factor contributing to the price hikes. The commission, however, also acknowledged that the recent price hikes offered compensation to local farmers who have long suffered from rising production costs and relatively low yields from cultivation since 1990s.
JAPAN: Ethanol from seaweed proposed by Tokyo university
Online The Inquirer reported that a third of Japanese cars could run on biofuel made from cultivating seaweed. The idea is currently being advocated by Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, wherein it has been proposed that biofuel production "farms" will be established in 10,000 square meter plots of ocean.
According to plans, seaweed species Sargassum fulvellum will be grown in the Yamatotai shoal, which is 30,000 kilometres wide.
The output will be able to generate 20 kiloliters of ethanol for each 10,000 square meters of cultivated seaweed on nets.
THAILAND: Thai capital to host biodiesel demonstration plant
Citing Thailand's rapid industrialization, corporate tax incentives and the cooperative nature of the Thailand government agencies, Canada-based Biomaxx Systems Inc has selected Bangkok as the location for its biodiesel demonstration plant, The Nation (Thailand) quotes a company press statement.
The demonstration plant, located near the bustling port of Laem Chabang, one of Asia's newest and most advanced shipping ports, is hoped to assist the company develop a product line of small scale biodiesel production.
THAILAND: Investments board lures new projects in restive provinces
Thailand's Board of Investment has approved even higher incentives to promote investment in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, Bangkok Post reports.
The new incentives package includes exemption from corporate tax contingent to the size of the new investment, a maximum eight-year corporate tax holiday, and tax privileges without restrictions on the value of the investment. The new package is aimed to arrest the underwhelming investment scenario in the three restive provinces. Between 2003 and 2006, only eight business ventures worth 2.42 billion baht proposed in the three provinces received BoI privileges.
The news comes as the BoI recently approved the promotion of six major projects worth 26.68 billion baht, among which is an ethanol plant by TPK Ethanol Co. The facility requires a total investment of 5.6 billion baht to produce 1.02 million liters per day of ethanol in Nakhon Ratchasima.
INDONESIA: Biodiesel giant accused of harming endangered rainforests
Environmental group Friends of the Earth Netherlands has accused palm oil producer Wilmar International for harming Indonesian forests, the Edge Daily cites a Reuters report. Wilmar is expected to be the world's largest palm biodiesel manufacturer after approval of a US$4.3 billion (RM14.8 billion) acquisition.
The Singapore-listed firm denied the allegation, citing the company's "zero burning policy" and plans not to engage in any logging activities. According to a company statement, Wilmar only develops plantations on land approved by the government for the cultivation of oil palms. The Friends of the Earth, on the other hand, reported that it was violating an Indonesian law requiring approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment before palm oil development starts.
The report highlighted the danger of the European Union's (EU) recent commitment to replace 10% of its transport fuel market with biofuels by 2020. The environmental group said that the EU policy will "simply aggravate" the severe environmental and social problems in countries like Indonesia.
Indonesia has a total forest area of more than 225 million acres (91 million hectares), or about 10% of the world's remaining tropical forest. It, however, has already lost an estimated 72% of its original frontier forest. Indonesia already has around 5 million hectares of land planted with oil palm and the government aims to develop between 2-3 million hectares more of such plantations nationwide by 2010.
MALAYSIA: Asian policies to challenge EU's dominance of biodiesel market
The Star Online (Malaysia) published a forecast by Rabobank International wherein the bank sees global biodiesel production growing six-fold to more than 21 million tonnes by 2010.
According to the report, the share of the European Union (EU), which currently accounts for more than 90% of output and had historically dominated the biodiesel sector, would likely fall below 50%. This is corroborated by the EU's performance in 2005, wherein its share fell to 75%.
According to Cherie Tan, EU's performance is a result of policy initiatives and further planned industry expansion mainly in North America and Asia., noting that biodiesel production is "dependent to a very large extent" on government directives.
The report, entitled "Palm biodiesel in South-East Asia: getting a head start", said that the implementation of different biodiesel programs among global players will facilitate a "structural increase" in demand for vegetable oils, which in turn will influence the price and international trade flow of vegetable oils and biodiesel. Such biodiesel programs include tax subsidies and mandatory blending requirements. Tan acknowledges that biofuels generally are "not economically viable" when the cost economics of biofuel are compared with fossil fuel prices, but strong support from governments makes the market viable.
The report estimated demand for vegetable oils would rise by 18 million tonnes to 21 million tonnes over the next five years as a result of biodiesel initiatives worldwide. The figure exceeds the projected increase in vegetable oil demand for food consumption by 40% to 60%
Owing to its price competitiveness, palm oil, the production of which is concentrated in Malaysia and Indonesia, currently provides comparative cost-effective feedstock for biodiesel production.
MALAYSIA: Glycerine producers see price decreases, appeal for government support
The Malaysian Oleochemical Manufacturers Group (MOMG) has asked the government for incentives and grants to companies to support the development of new uses and applications for glycerine, an important by-product of the biodiesel production process, Bernama (Malaysia) reports.
The appeal comes after forecasts that the strong growth in the biodiesel industry will increase the price of crude palm oil but lower the price of glycerine. For every 10 tonnes of oil processed into biodiesel, one tonne of glycerine is produced as a by-product.
The group, in a recent memorandum to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, said that if all the new biodiesel plants being planned worldwide come on stream, global production of glycerine will double over the next two years. The spike in supply may dampen prices of the by-product.
MALAYSIA: Biofuel Act to be implemented in 2008
The long-awaited Malaysia Biofuel Industry Act of 2006 is scheduled for implementation early next year, The Star (Malaysia) reports.
According to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, the government is keen to formulate the Act in order to facilitate the domestic development of the biofuel industry. The Act is expected to allow the government to mandate the use of biofuel in various activities in Malaysia.
In March last year, the National Biofuel Policy was launched to encourage the production of biofuel from palm oil for export as well as for blending to diesel locally.
June 30, 2007
CHINA: Local player suffers slump as feedstock costs surge
Biofuel producer China Biodiesel (CBI) suffered a slump in share prices as rising feedstock prices, alongside stable selling prices for diesel in China, continue to affect profit margins, online source ShareCast reported.
According to a company statement, global strong demand for vegetable and animal oils had pushed the price of waste oil, CBI's biofuel feedstock, up by 18%. To offset the challenges in the domestic market, the company is positioning itself for the export market.
Aligned with this plan are the completion of CBI's second plant in Longyan and the commissioning of its new plant during the third quarter of 2007. According to CBI, the new capacity at Longyan and Xiamen will allow exports to "contribute significantly" to future revenues and higher margins.
MALAYSIA: Government delays phase-in of 5% palm oil biodiesel mandate
The Malaysian government looks to postpone the plan to introduce "EnvoDiesel", domestic diesel required to contain a minimum 5% palm oil-based biofuel, Reuters quoted commodities minister Datuk Peter Chin. Concerns on sustained surges in feedstock costs and incomplete product testing were cited as reasons for the delay.
The move is a retraction of an earlier plan to start selling "EnvoDiesel" locally by 2008. Malaysia took the lead in developing ASEAN's biodiesel industry but firms planning biofuel production facilities are struggling because of shrinking margins as palm oil prices climb to record highs.
This is reflected by the fact that even though Malaysia has issued more than 90 licenses for putting up biodiesel plants, only 7 plants have started production. Chin clarified though that two more will come on-stream by end if 2008.
MALAYSIA: Market reacts negatively to biofuel mandate delay
The government announcement that it might delay a 2008 plan to use palm oil-based biofuel in diesel has sent Malaysian shares falling this week, led by biodiesel feedstock planters like IOI Corp and KL Kepong , Reuters reported.
The announcement was made by Malaysian Commodities Minister Peter Chin, citing that the mandate to blend a minimum 5 percent palm oil-based biofuel to local diesel might be delayed because of concerns on feedstock costs and as-yet incomplete testing.
PHILIPPINES: Oil exploration firm to buy ethanol producer
Philippines-based publicly listed oil exploration company Basic Petroleum Corp shall buy Zambo Norte BioEnergy Corp. (ZNBC), a firm with a potential to produce up to 200,000 liters of ethanol fuel daily from sugarcane by late 2009, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
According to Basic's executive vice president and chief operating officer Oscar de Venecia Jr., the acquisition is still subject to shareholder approval.
Citing "significant global trends", De Venecia said that the company will still pursue oil and gas exploration but will diversify into the green energy business. This includes the venture with ZNBC, which plans to erect the plant in a 22-hectare site and will draw sugarcane as feedstock from 6,000 hectares of leased land in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte. In addition, Basic has earmarked an additional 4,000 hectares for the project.
THAILAND: Allaying criticisms, ADB pushes green energy agenda
Amid criticisms for funding conventional energy projects like coal-fired power plants while largely ignoring renewable energy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), an institutional lender, has urged Asian governments to promote clean energy to maintain their booming economies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Associated Press reported the proceedings in a recent Bangkok conference co-sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said in a speech that Asian governments need to "actively pursue" clean energy, including biofuels, to support growth and poverty reduction in a responsible, sustainable manner.
In the same meeting, which came two months after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations network said the world has to make significant cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions, Philippine Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the challenge many developing countries face is funding renewable energy projects, which he said are often up to three times more costly than conventional sources.
ADB increased its annual spending on clean energy to $1 billion this year.
June 18, 2007
CHINA: Sweet potato eyed as ethanol feedstock
Chinese firm China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd. shall be using non-grain feedstock sweet potato as the raw material for a planned 100,000 tonne-a-year fuel-grade ethanol project in Jiangsu province, Reuters reported. The said project, according to China Agri-Industries Holdings, has already secured an agreement with Xuzhou municipal government, subject to the approval of China's National Development and Reform Commission.
The company's move is seen as a response to the government's call to the four authorized fuel ethanol plants in China to gradually shift away from using corn as biofuel feedstock. It has been widely agreed that increasing demand from corn processing industries, including fuel ethanol, has led to the steady climb of domestic cash corn prices.
CHINA: Corn-based ethanol projects will be blocked
The Chinese government shall be blocking ethanol projects that use corn and grains as raw material, advising local producers to switch to crops not widely eaten in China, such as sorghum, the Associated Press reports. The news reflects China's delicate balancing act in promoting the biofuel as a means to address reliance on imported oil and keeping food prices at bay.
The Xinhua News Agency, a local news firm, has quoted Xu Dingming, an official of the National Energy Leading Group, as saying that "food-based ethanol" will not be the direction for China.
The announcement also echoes the government's uneasiness over use of arable land, diversion of huge amounts of food stock, and environmental pressure in developing the renewable energy sources.
CHINA: Local firm keeps eye on sorghum following Beijing's policy
China Oil and Food Corporation (COFCO), China's largest oil and food importer and exporter, would focus on sorghum in the production of fuel ethanol following a government directive to disapprove ethanol projects that use food as biofuel raw material, the Budapest Business Journal reports. COFCO aims to produce five million tons of ethanol fuel based on sorghum in the near future.
An official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has said that the current four companies engaged in producing corn-derived ethanol would have to switch to non-food materials gradually. The four enterprises in Chinese provinces Jilin, Heilongjiang, Henan and Anhui have a combined production capacity of 1.02 million tons per year. COFCO owns the Heilongjiang plant and has a 20% stake in the Anhui facility.
In addition to sorghum, COFCO is also serious in developing cellulosic ethanol fuel under a cooperation agreement with Denmark-based Novozymes. Steen Riisgaard, president and CEO of Novozymes, is confident of China's prospect in cellulosic ethanol, as the cost of collecting the stalks of corn are much cheaper in China.
TAIWAN: E3 policy mulled, government sets September schedule
Taiwan would push government vehicles in the capital, Taipei, to use E3 fuel on a trial basis beginning in September, Earth Times cites a China Post report following a comment by Economic Affairs Minister Steve Chen. The policy, Chen said, is aligned with the government's push toward ethanol fuel and renewable energy as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. E3 is gasoline to which 3 percent ethanol has been added.
According to Chen, his office has already asked Taiwan's China Petroleum Corportation to select gas stations that would sell E3 from 2011. He also said his ministry is devising ways to encourage private motorists to use E3.
The Taiwanese government has an overall plan to install renewable energy-power electricity generation capacity of around 5.13 billion watts by 2010. The focus will be on wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy, along with hydrogen and fuel cells.
ASIA: Demand for soybean oil pushes price further up, chokes biodiesel industry
Rising soybean oil prices constrain the rapidly expanding biodiesel industry, reflecting the pitfalls of the industry's heavy reliance on the vegetable oil, the Associated Press reports. According to reports, soybean oil prices have affected the profitability of many biodiesel plants as soybean oil typically accounts for as much as 80 percent of the operating cost.
According to Fred Seamon, a Board of Trade agriculture analyst in the United States, the high prices will not bring the biodiesel industry to a screeching halt, but will instead likely slow the industry. The average soybean prices for 2007-2008 are projected at $6.65 to $7.65 per bushel, up 15 cents on both ends of the range, according to a USDA report. The prices are higher, analysts believe, in part because of forward pricing opportunities due to stronger soybean oil prices.
The demand for edible oils in Asian markets China and India is expected to continue to increase and the increasing demand from the biodiesel industries in the European Union and the United States for soybean oils is expected to continue to pressure world stocks.
THAILAND: Energy ministry adopts strategy to spur expansion of palm oil plantations
The Thai Energy Ministry is preparing an "integrated strategy" to support a local biodiesel industry and will ask the Cabinet and the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) for additional measures to promote palm-oil plantations, The Nation reported.
The strategy was advocated by Energy permanent secretary Pornchai Rujiprapha after learning that the area of oil-palm plantation was expanding more slowly than expected, resulting in fewer raw materials for palm-oil-based biodiesel production.
Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand was quick to take action, as he had already ordered all relevant agencies to work on the strategy, the focus of which will be plantations and biodiesel production. Once penned, the strategy will be submitted for NEPC and Cabinet approval.
THAILAND: Incentives to be offered to farmers to expand palm oil hectarage
The Thai government, represented by Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand, is worried that its biodiesel plantation area has not expanded as expected, the Nation reports. Under a 2005 strategic biodiesel-development plan, the total plantation area was projected to cover 720,000 rai by 2006. However, the actual current area is only 300,000 rai, or less than half the target.
Amranand reportedly blamed strict lending requirements by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives for farmers not wanting to join the biodiesel program. The farmers are charged interest at the same minimum retail rate that other retail borrowers are charged. Instead, he said, incentives should be available to farmers to promote palm-oil production. It has been floated that the funds could come from the Oil Fund, or a biodiesel fund could be set up to promote the investment.
The government has reason to worry. Biodiesel demand is expected to top a million liters a day, or 300,000 tonnes of crude palm oil a year by April 2008, when a 2 per cent biodiesel blending mandate shall be imposed on all diesel service stations.
JAPAN: Japan among those criticized for food-based ethanol
Japan, along with the United States and the European Union, was criticized by Jean Ziegler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, for promoting ethanol production in order to reduce their dependence on imported oil, stating that the biofuel might lead to worldwide food shortage.
The UN envoy cited the case of corn where in some parts of the world its price shot up by 16% as a result of greater demand for producing biofuels. According to Mr. Ziegler, the development of biofuels presents a "great danger" to people's right to food.
He issued the statements in a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
INDONESIA: Indonesia receives interest from Austrian biodiesel makers
Indonesia is receiving investment interest from at least three Austrian companies who are exploring opportunities to venture into biodiesel production, the Budapest Business Journal reported. According to Austrian Commercial Counselor Raymund Gradt, the companies are Energea, BioDiesel International, and the Christof Group and they are interested to provide the technology to build biodiesel refineries jointly with local firms.
The three Austrian companies currently produce a total of 440,000 tons of biodiesel per annum, more than half of their home country's annual demand of around 700,000-800,000 tons. Their strategy is to "leverage" biodiesel production in connection with the European Union's program biofuels target of 3.4% this year to 20% in 2020.
SINGAPORE: Singapore bourse starts trading CPO futures, starts rivalry with Malaysia's
As palm oil prices set record highs anew, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has launched trading for crude palm oil (CPO) futures, effectively competing against Bursa Malaysia, which currently sets the global benchmark for the biofuel feedstock, the Financial Times reported. According to plans, SGX will offer CPO futures on its Joint Asian Derivatives Exchange (JADE), a joint venture with US-based Chicago Board of Trade, in US dollars, which is seen as less expensive to hedge than the Malaysian ringgit.
The rivalry between the Singapore and Malaysia bourses surfaced as increased demand for palm oil for biodiesel production has led to a steep rise in the trading of futures for the commodity. The Singapore contract is based on Indonesian CPO, settled with physical delivery at the ports of Belawan and Dumai in Sumatra, Indonesia.
According to JADE, Indonesian prices better reflects global demand for the commodity. On the other hand, Malaysian price for palm oil is set by domestic demand, with the commodity processed locally for refined products such as palm olien.
PHILIPPINES: Agriculture office acknowledges pressure of biofuel on basic food supply
The government's Department of Agriculture (DA) has recognized the increasing tension between the demand for crops for human consumption and for biofuels, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. According to Patricio Ananayo, a DA executive, a possible shift from farm production for food security to the biofuels program is a cause of concern.
His observation was shared by DA Secretary Arthur Yap, who vowed that his office shall keep the agricultural sector on a high growth path by embarking on a five-point program anchored on massive spending for rural infrastructure starting 2007.
According to Yap, biofuels, along with weather, population and environmental degradation, are "nagging pressures" on agricultural production. A recent DA report cites plans to increase farm growth rate from the current average of between 3 and 4 percent to between 5 and 6 percent in the next decade.
PHILIPPINES: Biodiesel producer eyes export market for higher value coco-diesel
Local biodiesel producer Chemrez Technologies Inc. will soon export "fractionated coco-methyl ester" (CME), which may be used for purposes other than as biodiesel fuel but has a higher value than the typical coco-biodiesel, the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted ChemrezTech chief operating officer Jun Lao as saying.
According to Lao, fractionated coco-methyl ester can be used for detergents, environment-friendly lubricants, and even as additives for engine oils with aeronautical and aerospace applications. The product shall be exported to Europe, Japan and the United States, markets which offer better margins but cost the same to ship. The company will initially produce 20,000 tons of the high-value CME for the export market.
ChemrezTech is reportedly the only local oleochemical company that produces fractionated CME from its continuous process methyl ester plant.
INDIA: Biodiesel powers telecom stations in remote area
Locally produced biofuels are powering four mobile base stations, which are located in greenfield sites in the state of Maharashtra, of Indian telecom operators, including that of Idea Cellular and Ericsson, SysCom quoted a GSM Association (GSMA) announcement. GSMA is the global trade association for mobile operators.
The greenfield sites previously had no access to a mobile network and are located in areas with unreliable power supply. The biodiesel for the base stations are derived from used frying oils from local restaurants. In the long term, locally produced jatropha oil will be used.
According to Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director of IDEA Cellular, the use of biofuels delivers social and economical benefits to rural communities in India. On the other hand, Mats Granryd, President of Ericsson India, said that the company is pleased to pioneer biofuel into the telecom industry."
May 31, 2007
ASIA: Soybean prices in record high due to biodiesel demand
An increased demand for vegetable oils has been attributed to higher production of biofuels, pushing soybean prices to their highest since 2004 and a spike in prices for palm oil, Bloomberg News reports. According to the report, soybean futures for July delivery rose to $8.125 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after reaching $8.1425 during the session, the highest price for a most-active contract since June 2004.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, palm oil futures climbed for a fourth straight session on increased demand from China, the world's biggest vegetable oil importer. China's palm oil imports climbed to a healthy 27 percent to 1.6 million metric tons in the first four months of 2007 from a year ago.
According to Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities, increasing biofuel demand is driving prices. This demand is reflected by such policies as the European Union wanting biodiesel to make up 5.75 percent of the bloc's transportation fuels by 2010.
CHINA: Chinese contingent visits India for Jatropha talks
The Chinese government has prepared a new plan to exchange technology and ideas on Jatropha cultivation in both China and India, Tamil Nadu News reports. A 13-member business delegation from China, headed by Dachang Lu, deputy director general of Guizhou Development and Reform Commission, has already visited India to gather ideas on Jatropha for the production of biodiesel.
According to Mr. Dachang, the visit was a follow-up of the recent visit to China by Dr. Montek Singh Aluwalia, India's Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. During Aluwalia's visit, an agreement on renewable energy with the Director General of land reforms commission of China was forged.
According to the Chinese government executive, China is already cultivating Jatropha in an area of two lakh acres, which could produce between 10,000 tonnes and 20,000 tonnes biodiesel annually.
PHILIPPINES: US company invests hefty equity into ethanol project
US-based company E-Cane Fuel Corp. (ECF) has told local media that it shall be putting up a $150-million (P6.9 billion) fully-integrated ethanol processing facility in Central Luzon, north of Manila, the Philippine Star reports. The amount is said to be the biggest private investment by a US company in the emerging Philippine biofuel industry. At present, E-Cane has bioethanol-related operations in Latin America and Colombia but its foray into the Philippines will be the firm's first.
According to ECF chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Monclin, the facility will include the development of farms for the production of feedstock. The proposed ethanol plant, which will have a capacity of 150 million liters, will process sugarcane as a primary feedstock.
The majority of the output, Monclin said, will be supplied to the local market and a portion will be exported to neighboring countries Japan and South Korea.
PHILIPPINES: Stock listing mulled by Jatropha biodiesel investor
PNOC Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC), a Government Owned and Controlled Corporation that recently bagged US$1 billion worth of investments for its planned biodiesel complexes, is considering listing its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange by 2008 or 2009, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports. The hefty investment reportedly came from British firm NRG Chemical Engineering Pte. Ltd.
According to company chairman Renato Velasco, the company is already working on an initial public offering (IPO) of stocks, although as of the moment it is still ironing out the agreements it is having with strategic project partners. Earlier, PNOC-AFC signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean firm Samsung Corp. for an P8.2-billion Jatropha plantation and refinery project.
Velasco said that if PNOC-AFC would go ahead with an IPO, the profits would be re-invested to set up biodiesel refineries and production of "bio-plastics", derived from which waste products from the refineries.
INDIA: India, Brazil to stage ethanol and nuclear power talks
An energy summit is due between Brazil and India next month wherein the two regional giants will discuss nuclear and ethanol fuel technology, Earth Times reports. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to be on hand for the talks set to start on June 3rd. Da Silva, Brazilian news sources report, will likely be accompanied by 100 Brazilian business leaders for the economic and energy talks.
According to R. Viswanathan, an executive at India' s External Affairs Ministry, nuclear energy and ethanol are future areas for cooperation for the two countries.
For ethanol, Brazil and India will discuss international commerce of the biofuel. In 2005, India was Brazil's largest customer for ethanol, importing some 100 million gallons. The following year, however, the number decreased as Brazilian ethanol lost ground to rival producers from the United States and Japan, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
INDONESIA: Indian palm oil refiner to secure more land in Indonesia
Indian firm Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd., India's leading palm refiner and soymeal exporter, is planning to either lease or buy palm plantations in Indonesia, reports Reuters. The move is seen to provide the company stable supplies of the raw material as palm oil prices escalate further. Palm oil is up more than 75 percent since January 2006.
According to Dinesh Shahra, Ruchi's managing director, the company saw it urgent to secure supplies of the commodity, as diversion into biodiesel production may push up its prices further. Ruchi refines 800,000 tonnes of palm oil annually.
Shahra added that the company is planning to take land on lease in Indonesia and plant oil palm, or buying plantations if prices offered are good.
JAPAN: Food sufficiency needed amid increasing biofuel demand
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry's fiscal 2006 report has categorically said that Japan must improve its food self-sufficiency rate as the continued production of biofuels continue to bite into food supplies, Kyodo News reports.
The report, a government white paper recently approved by the Cabinet, has warned that the East Asian country may face the challenge of escalating food prices and insufficient food stocks.
The paper has pointed to the case in the United States wherein demand for corn for biofuel production is expected to rise to 31 percent of overall U.S. demand for corn. This will, the report claims, make the amount for export inevitably lower, which will in turn affect food-importing nations like Japan.
JAPAN: Incentives for food exporters proposed as ministry bats for self-sufficiency
Amid warnings of tightening food supply and demand situation, a group of government executives is proposing that the government provides enticements to food-exporting nations to secure a stable food supply, Kyodo News reports.
Some members of the government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy have proposed that Japan must strengthen relations with food-exporting nations by initiating more economic partnership agreements with them that would include trade liberalization of farm products. An Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry fiscal 2006 report has said that increased biofuel demand, coupled with increases in world population, will inevitably tighten world food supply, affecting countries such as Japan.
The same report, however, is also cautious on overdependence on food imports, saying that in a crisis exporting countries would supply food to their own populations first. Therefore, the paper has proposed self-sufficiency measures like large-scale farming, encouraging residents in urban areas to start farming, and rice on abandoned farmlands.
JAPAN: Gasohol retailers pleased with initial sales, eye expansion
Retailers of ethanol-blended gasoline are pleased with the current sales of the product, Japan Times reports. According to Fumiaki Watari, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan and chairman of Nippon Oil Corp., the favorable sales are attributed to the positive appeal of "bio-gasoline".
In April, Japanese oil companies started selling a mixture of imported ethanol and gasoline at 50 gas stations in the Kanto region. Retail prices are the same as regular gasoline due to government subsidies.
Watari added that the local petroleum industry intends to increase the number of gas stations selling bio-gasoline to 100 by the end of March 2009.
May 4, 2007
CHINA: China's corn supply imbalanced by emerging ethanol, industry use
China's corn exports are expected to gradually decline following rising domestic demand from the deep processing and livestock feed industries along with the emerging ethanol industry. According to Ma Xiaohe, vice president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission of China, in an interview for online site Resource Investor, China's long term prospects as a net corn importer is probable albeit this will not happen in the short term. According to data from the China National Grain and Oil Information Center (CNGOIC), China's corn exports are expected to drop to 2.5 million tonnes in the year 2007/2008 from 4 million tonnes in the year 2006/2007, and imports to rise to 400,000 tonnes from 100,000 in the same period.
The shift in the import-export ratio reflects growing corn consumption for industry use, which is expected to top 34 million tonnes in the year 2006/2007, an increase of 23.6% from the previous year. According to a recent forecast by the CNGOIC, industrial consumption for the grain is further anticipated to reach 36 million tonnes in the year 2007/2008, of which 13 million tons will be used for the production of corn-based ethanol.
The situation of dwindling corn exports reflects a government policy, which was put in place in late 2006 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body. Following the policy, China suspended the expansion of the domestic ethanol industry as utilizing corn for fuel, among other industrial uses, was being blamed for soaring grain prices. In November 2006, grain prices rose by almost 5%, prompting the government to veer away from an ongoing "five year economic plan" where Chinese economic planners have made the development of green energies such as biofuels, including ethanol, a key priority. The plan, which supposedly aimed a 2020 target for renewable energy sources to account for 15% of all transportation fuels, was put on hold in favor of food production.
According to Wang Xiaobing, an official at the Agriculture Ministry's Crops Cultivation Department, in an interview to state-run newspaper People's Daily, the priority for the government is to feed its 1.3 billion strong population over production of bio-based fuels. As of December 2006, ethanol-blended gasoline is sold in five provinces and 27 cities, accounting for 20 percent of the country's total gasoline consumption.
To address the food versus fuel debate, some solutions, albeit not without concerns, have been floated. The NDRC, for example, has urged local governments to use non-food grains. Chinese producers, however, continue to use corn as feedstock because of a perceived lack of large-scale models and farming technology for mass planting of non-grain feedstock such as cassava and sorghum.
China's Ministry of Agriculture has also announced a 2010 target for the expansion of corn output to more than 150 million tons from 26.8 million hectares of land, an increase from 144 million tons recorded in 2006. The proposal is impeded by the scarcity of arable land in China, thus the government has supported productivity-boosting farm practices such as switching to higher-yielding varieties and modern planting technologies, as well as adopting greater mechanization of farm labor.
Some local companies have also taken the initiative to utilize non-grain feedstock. For example, local firm COFCO Ltd. will focus on non-grain bio-mass production, including cassava, sweet potato and sweet sorghum. The company is expected to increase fuel ethanol production to 3.1 million tonnes by 2010. According to company plans, COFCO's fuel ethanol production will consists of 42% corn, 26% cassava and 32% sweet potato and sweet sorghum by 2010.
Sources:
Interfax China Commodities Daily. "China to Become a Net Corn Importer in the Future". http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp relid=31245
Asia Times Online. "Biofuels eat into China's food stocks". http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HL21Cb03.html
World Watch. "China to Boost Corn Production to Meet Rising Demand for Feed and Fuel". http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5034
April 26, 2007
JAPAN: Locally produced ethanol preferred by Japanese refiners
The chairman of Nippon Oil Corporation and the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), Fumiaki Watari, has said that Japanese refiners would like to purchase ethanol produced domestically instead of importing the alternative fuel, reports the Dow Jones Newswires.
An ethanol refinery with an annual capacity of 50,000 kiloliters is being planned in Hokkaido, and PAJ members plan to purchase all of its production to make ethyl tertiary butyl ether or ETBE, a gasoline additive made from equal parts ethanol and isobutylene. The Hokkaido facility will be Japan's first major ethanol plant and will use wheat that is unfit for commercial sale as its feedstock
Concerns about energy security have Japanese refiners looking for domestic ethanol supplies, but ethanol imports from Brazil will still be necessary to meet projected demand. PAJ members established a partnership to import ethanol after the government announced that it would ultimately like to see 500,000 kiloliters of crude oil replaced with ethanol.
CHINA: Carmakers joining green bandwagon
With close to 150 million vehicles on its roads and new car sales alone adding 5-6 million a year, China is a test case for global automakers pushing their clean, fuel-efficient models and technologies, reports Reuters. The focus on the environment comes as China looks for ways to alleviate pollution and damaging traffic congestion without slamming the brakes on an autos sector driving much of the economy's breakneck growth.
Manufacturers will use this month's Shanghai Auto Show to showcase their green credentials, hoping to steer China towards supporting technologies in which they excel. At the Shanghai event, Japan's Honda Motor Co. will display its FCX fuel-cell concept, a flex-fuel vehicle that can run on a broad mixture of ethanol and gasoline, as well as a home energy station for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
China's vehicle market is second only to the United States, and is growing fast as incomes rise and cars become more affordable, prompting foreign carmakers and local firms to flood the market with new models.
CHINA: PetroChina starts building biodiesel facility
PetroChina Co. has announced that it has started building an experimental biodiesel facility in Nanchong city, in the Sichuan province of southwestern China, reports Marketwatch.
The trial facility will be the company's first attempt to produce alternative fuel, and will use biomass materials planted by local farmers as feedstock. The facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of 10,000 metric tons of biodiesel, with construction to be completed later this year. Technology developed as through the trial facility will be used for larger-scale biodiesel production in the future.
PetroChina plans to produce 100,000 tons of biodiesel in Sichuan by 2010, and another 100,000 tons a year in other regions of the country by 2010. The company, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC.YY), aims to be the largest biomass energy producer in the country. It signed a deal earlier this year with the State Forestry Administration to cooperate in growing crops and producing biomass energy for the long term.
AUSTRALIA: Ban on fuel imports pushed
Scientist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery has called for Australia to ban fossil fuel imports by 2020 and to set more defined targets for increasing biofuel use within the coming years, reports The Australian. Dr Flannery said that while other nations forged ahead to cut their use of fossil fuels, Australia was well behind. "We need targets in this country. A good aspirational goal would be to stop importing fossil fuels by 2020. The target could be achieved with increased fuel efficiency and the use of biofuels such as ethanol," he said.
Dr. Hannery said that he believed vested interests were hampering the biofuel push: "The fossil fuel lobby is quite strong, they are a strong lobby group that wants to protect their patch and we see it with coal and petroleum." The Government also needed to set a target for how much Australia must reduce carbon dioxide emissions, he said.
INDONESIA: State-owned plantation firms to build biodiesel plant
A spokesman of the state plantation company PTPN IV has said that three state plantation firms have agreed to cooperate in building 300,000-ton-annual-capacity biodiesel plant, reports Antara. The spokesman revealed that construction of the plant will begin in 2008 and operations will begin in 2009, but did not disclose the amount of funds needed to build the plant. He said that the three state firms are still discussing the percentage of their respective shares and the location of the plant.
Director for Energy Resources Development at the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Unggul Prayitno said last month the Finance Ministry is in the process of formulating two types of incentives to be offered to investors involved in biofuel projects. The planned incentives consist of tax breaks and subsidized interest on loans. The government is planning to produce 200,000 barrels of biofuel a day by 2010.
INDONESIA: South Sumatra to host biodiesel plants
National corporation PT Wijaya Karya (Wika) and PT Pertamina`s Management Unit (UP)-III Plaju have agreed to invest Rp350 billion in a biodiesel project in South Sumatra, reports Antara. The project will utilize crude palm oil derived from the output of 100,000 ha of oil palm plantations in South Sumatra and Jambi provinces.
PT Wika business manager Agung Yunanto said that the project would also involve state-owned plantation company PTPN VII and state-owned electricity company PT PLN. Agung, however, could not mention where the proposed biodiesel plant using would be set up.
South Sumatra Governor Syahrial Oesman said each of the two companies would open oil palm plantations on 26,000 ha of land in OKI, Banyuasin and Muara Enin districts in 2007. "The central government intends to open 1.5 million ha of oil palm plantations nation-wide this year. The South Sumatra administration has been entrusted with initiating oil plam plantations on 300,000 ha of the total," he said.
MALAYSIA: Palm oil prices worry biodiesel investors
Industry players fear that the demand for biodiesel and the earnings of its producers may be hurt as crude palm oil (CPO) prices soar to record levels, higher even that the current selling price of biodiesel itself, reports The Business Times.
"Biodiesel prices are now ranging between RM2,400 and RM2,600 a tons compared to CPO current price levels of RM2,200. CPO prices still have the potential to climb further to RM2,300 and RM2,400, and when that happens, biodiesel players' profit margin will be squeezed and their pockets will be hurt," said a Malaysian Palm Oil Association official.
Last March, the Government had approved 90 biodiesel licenses, of which five plants are already operating with a total palm oil feedstock requirement of 350,000 tons. Golden Hope Plantations Bhd group chief executive Datuk Sabri Ahmad said the current high CPO prices are painful for non-plantation companies because, unlike plantation companies, those which do not own estates will not be able to cushion the effects of low biodiesel prices and cannot enjoy the high CPO prices.
MALAYSIA: Ninety biofuel project licenses approved, six operational
The government has approved 90 licenses for the establishment of biofuel plants, of which six with a capacity of 352,000 tons are already operational, reports Bernama. "Some of the plants are in various stages of construction and between seven and 10 of them are expected to be up and running by year-end," said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin at the Biofuel Industry Bill 2006 at the Dewan Rakyat.
Chin said that from last August till February, 52,654 tons of biodiesel had been exported to the United States, European Union and Japan, generating RM132 million in revenue.
April 11, 2007
ASIA: Rise of cheaper biodiesel fuels foreseen
Edible oils such as palm oil may continue to be provisional feedstock for biodiesel, but companies developing inedible oils such as jatropha oil say they make more economic and ethical sense in the long run, reports the Dow Jones Newswire.
Nathan Mahalingam, managing director of Australia's Mission Biofuels Ltd., said the biodiesel industry could start consolidating in three to five years as rising raw-material costs and shrinking margins put small, independent producers under pressure or even out of business.
Mission Biofuels operates and is building several biodiesel plants in Malaysia, and is growing jatropha on plantations in India. Though the company is using palm oil for now, it plans to eventually switch to jatropha which is cheaper to produce and provides better quality biofuel than palm oil.
INDIA: Express carrier launches biofuel pilot locally
In an effort to us more efficient and eco-friendly vehicles, express carrier TNT has begun using biofuels to power its delivery vehicles in India, reports Logistics Today. In the initial phase of the project, specially-trained drivers will run three bio-fuel trucks between Pune, Nasik and Bangalore.
MALAYSIA: Council cites palm oil as second generation biofuel
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) feels that, with a little more fine-tuning in its processing technology, palm oil will certainly qualify as second generation biofuel in reducing carbon dioxide emission by more than 80 percent, reports The Business Times.
By the end of this year, Malaysia will have about 500,000 tons installed capacity from 10 biodiesel plants. MPOC chief executive officer Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron has predicted a bullish scenario for producers, and hailed palm oil as nutritionally superior, not to mention more environment-friendly, than competing oils.
"It is very critical for us to maintain our market share and increase new and matured markets where we can sell our oil in a way that will not affect our market price," said MPOC chairman Datuk Seri Lee Oi Hian.
INDIA: 50+ sugar companies offer ethanol to oil firms
A total of fifty-two sugar companies from nine states have offered to supply oil marketing companies with 1,061.04 million liters of ethanol in order to implement blending petrol with five percent biofuel, reports The Hindu Businessline. The oil marketing companies have floated tenders and received offers from companies in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Goa, Maharashtra (partial), Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (partial) and Karnataka. The top suppliers are Shree Renuka Sugars with 217 million liters, Bajaj Hindustan group 99 million liters, and Balrampur Chini Group with 44 million liters.
Previously the government had announced that ethanol-blended petrol would be made available in 20 states and four union territories for a period of three years. To meet the demand, petrol depots would require around 565 million liters annually or about 1,700 million liters for the entire period. Though sugar companies can currently only supply around 70 percent of this quantity, they are ramping up production to meet the shortfall in due time.
Early this month, the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dinsha Patel, had said that tenders for other states and locations were being finalized.
PAKISTAN: Government awaits publication of ethanol report
An official of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has announced that a report on utility of gasoline blended with ten percent ethanol, being sold in three different cities of the country on trial basis, will be completed in next two weeks, reports The News. Under the six-month-long E10 Gasoline pilot project, which was launched last year in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, select vehicles from each city were monitored to check the efficacy of ten percent ethanol, which is more than a rupee cheaper than standard gasoline.
To make the biofuel commercially feasible, the government has implemented a tax waiver on ethanol a move seen by oil refiners, who are already facing dropping petrol consumption, as a state favor towards the sugar industry. In rebuttal, Pakistan Sugar Millers Association Chairman Aslam Faruque has said that the government's support for ethanol is rooted mainly in an effort to identify environment-friendly fuel sources.
March 2007
MALAYSIA: Biofuels Industrial Act to empower ministry to revoke biodiesel licenses
It has been learned that the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry will soon be empowered to revoke licenses that were issued to companies to set up biodiesel plants once the Biofuel Industrial Act is passed by the Parliament in May. The Biofuel Industrial Bill, a draft of rules for the biodiesel industry in Malaysia, is set to be debated by lawmakers in May and possibly receive the royal assent by the end of the year.
According to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, once the Bill becomes an Act, it will empower his agency, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to issue and revoke biodiesel production and export licenses, enable all vehicles in the country to use palm oil-based biodiesel, set a ceiling price, as well as direct petrol stations to sell the green oil to consumers.
To date, the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority had issued 90 licenses since last year. However, out of that number, only five biodiesel plants have started operations. When asked on the progress of companies setting up their biodiesel plants, Chin said he was "not happy". "The ministry will decide on actions to be taken and this includes the power to revoke the licenses given, which is a provision under the Biofuel Industrial Act," he said.
In Malaysia, the five biodiesel plants are operating with a total palm oil feedstock requirement of 350,000 tons. Chin added that being a new industry, it was expected to face many challenges related to feedstock prices and the volatility of crude oil prices, tariff and non-tariff barriers including environmental pressures against palm oil.
Meanwhile, the price of palm oil, the world's most traded vegetable oil, will surge this year as demand increases, the impact of drought curbs supply in Southeast Asia and more governments mandate the use of alternative fuels. The commodity will average $564 a metric ton in 2007, 27 percent higher than last year's figure, according to the median forecast of eight analysts polled by Bloomberg News. The average price gained 11 percent in 2006 compared with the year before.
"For 2007, the demand for crude palm oil will be high because of biodiesel demand,'' said Stefanus Darmagiri, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian Securities in Jakarta. "The demand and supply discrepancy in 2008 will continue primarily because of biodiesel plants that would be operational by then,'' said Sebastian Tobing, an analyst at PT Trimegah Securities in Jakarta.
References: Bloomberg News, The Star Online (Malaysia), Business Times Online (Malaysia)
JAPAN: Standards dispute hinder biofuel projects
Biofuels projects in Japan have been stalled due to disagreements between the Environment Ministry and the petroleum industry on how to blend ethanol with gasoline. The ministry established the initiative to promote automotive biofuel to reduce fossil-fuel consumption and help curb global warming. Japan consumes more than 1 million barrels of gasoline a day and is the world's second-biggest gasoline market after the United States.
It has been learned that while the ministry advocates mixing ethanol itself, the Petroleum Association of Japan, which represents 18 oil refiners and wholesalers, is pushing ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE), a gasoline additive made by compounding ethanol and isobutane.
The Petroleum Association of Japan is opposed to blending ethanol partly because the quality of E3 gasoline, which is 3 percent ethanol blended with gasoline, can deteriorate if water, such as rain, is inadvertently mixed in while vehicles are refilled at gas stations or during storage and transportation. ETBE-mixed gasoline is considered less vulnerable to water, although the government is still assessing the chemical additive for possible health risks. Opposition is also based on the costs required to improve equipment and facilities at refiners and distributors.
The Environment Ministry says there have been no major problems with the quality of ethanol-mixed gasoline and the direct-blending method is adopted in many countries, including the United States, Brazil, China and India. The ministry also says that both ethanol-mixed biofuel and ETBE-mixed gasoline can coexist with each other just as regular and premium gasoline do.
Since way back in April 2005, the Environment Ministry had aimed to start selling E3 gasoline and to replace all retail gasoline with ethanol-blended fuels by 2012. However, E3 remains hardly available at the pump, partly because of strong industry opposition due to costs and concerns about human health. Six biofuel experiments using E3 have been underway in Japan, but some are deadlocked due to the industry's opposition of the direct-blending method.
A municipal government official in Shinjo, Yamagata Prefecture has said that almost no stations in the city, which are all affiliated with major oil wholesalers, is willing to handle E3 gasoline. A plant built by the Environment Ministry in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture was supposed to be the world's first commercial producer of ethanol from waste wood, but is now having difficulties finding suppliers of gasoline or gas stations that handle E3 gasoline.
References: Asahi Business, Reuters
INDONESIA/INDIA: India's record vegetable oil imports to benefit Indonesia
BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, has predicted that Indonesia's palm oil sales to India will surge this year as imports of vegetable oils to the South Asian nation hit record levels, reports Reuters. With India's economy expected to grow at more than 9 percent, the fastest in 18 years, demand for vegetable oils could grow at an average 6 percent or more annually, said Mehta.
Mehta said India, the world's second-largest oil buyer, after China, is forecast to import close to 20 percent more of vegetable oils in the year ending October 2007, rising to about 6.4 million tons, from around 5.4 million tons a year ago. Out of that, palm oil imports are expected to be 4.9 million tons. India's oilseeds output is also expected to decline this year as farmers shift to other crops like wheat, cotton and pulses, which have yielded higher returns last year.
Mehta said world palm oil prices are likely to remain firm as the expansion of the biofuel industry continues. Mehta said India is unlikely to emerge as a big biodiesel producer in coming years because of a lack of availability of plentiful feedstocks. "With such high price you cannot think of using palm oil. And local feedstocks from sources like jatropha will take two to three years to develop." India has around 12 small scale biodiesel plants under construction out of which three units had been commissioned but yet to start production, he said.
INDONESIA: Indonesian firm signs biodiesel export deal
Indonesian oleochemical firm PT Sumi Asih has signed a contract to supply a U.S. energy firm with 10,000 tons of palm oil-based biodiesel per month at $730.5 a ton, reports Reuters. Company president director Alexius Darmad has said that the deal would last for four months starting april but could be extended for another four months.
Darmadi did not give details of the U.S. buyer in the deal, its first biofuel export to the United States. The firm produces 36,000 tons of biodiesel per year, all of which is exported to Europe. To meet growing biodiesel demand, the company plans to expand the output capacity of its biodiesel plant in West Java to 100,000 tons with a total investment of $8 million. It also plans to build a new biodiesel plant in Lampung in Sumatra island with output capacity of 200,000 tons a year and investment of up to $28 million.
THAILAND: Palm oil imports for biodiesel production mulled
Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand has said Thailand may allow imports of palm oil to produce biodiesel due to a shortage of palm oil in Thailand, reports Turner News Agency.
Mr. Piyasvasti said that importers must ensure that their biodiesel price must not exceed market price, but that Thailand's government-sponsored Oil Fund will also initiate incentives to encourage palm oil planters to grow more trees locally. Imports of palm oil may have to be made carefully as they may pose a negative impact on the biodiesel production plan by Thai Oleochemicals, a subsidiary of PTT Chemical Pcl., scheduled to start late this year with a production capacity is 600,000 liters daily.
SOUTH KOREA: South Korea invests in bioenergy crops
South Korea is seeing a drive to produce more biodiesel, with the government pledging its support to rapeseed cultivation for biofuel use, reports The government has announced plans for three new 500-hectare farms to produce 2.4mt of rapeseed to be completed by 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said on Wednesday.
A total of 2.6bn Won (2.1m) is being invested in the project and the aim is to achieve a 5% ethanol blend in fuel once enough can be domestically produced.
Currently South Korean biodiesel contains just 0.5% ethanol.
MALAYSIA: Parliament eyes Biofuel Bill debate in May
The Biofuel Industrial Bill, a draft of rules for the biodiesel industry in Malaysia, is set to be debated by lawmakers in May and possibly receive the royal assent by the end of the year, reports The Business Times. Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said once the Bill becomes an Act, it will empower his agency, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to issue and revoke biodiesel production and export licences, enable all vehicles in the country to use palm oil-ba
Design and programming by TSG Marketing