news/updates
Petron says it may be forced to import ethanol supply
Negros plant construction faces delay
By Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer
April 21, 2008
MANILA, Philippines--With the construction of the San Carlos Bio-Energy Inc. ethanol plant facing delay, Petron Corp. may be forced to import its ethanol supply to be able to comply with the Biofuels Act of 2006's mandated 5-percent blend by next year.
Petron chairman Nicasio Alcantara said the oil firm might no longer be able to wait for the San Carlos Bio-Energy ethanol processing plant to be commissioned as it had to comply with the mandated blend by February 2009.
Possible ethanol sources included Brazil, India and Thailand, he said, but the possibility of importation was still being thoroughly studied.
The oil firm would be doing a trial importation of two containers worth of ethanol just to test the waters, he said.
"We have to determine our next big step when it comes to complying with the mandated ethanol blend. We may have to import just to comply with the law," he said.
"But this is still being studied. We believe that ethanol should be sourced locally because the law will not make sense if we just import. However, the mandate will take effect on February 2009, and the construction of San Carlos is delayed," he added.
Under the Biofuels Law, gasoline should have at least a 5-percent ethanol blend within two years of the law's effectivity. The mandated blend will rise to at least 10 percent after four years.
In preparation for this, Petron had signed a memorandum of understanding with San Carlos Bio-Energy for its ethanol supply.
San Carlos Bio-Energy will be putting up an integrated facility that will have a cane milling plant with a throughput capacity of 1,500 metric tons of sugarcane daily.
It will also have a co-generation power plant that will produce about 9 megawatts (MW) of electricity, of which 4 MW will be sold to the grid.
The facility will also house a distillery plant that can generate 100,000 liters of anhydrous ethanol a day.
