Petrobras progresses with biofuels
09-05-10
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras runs four major projects with biofuels: with former Teros company Acucar Guarini, Galb Energia, the Paulinia refinery, biodiesel production in Para in Brazilia.
Petrobras will acuire a 45.7% share in ethanol producer Acucar Guarani, previously controlled by France-based sugar, starch and ethanol producer Tereos.
Petrobras Biocombustivel will acquire the stake for $920 million (€706.3 million), valuing the Guarani company at $2.01 billion.
Petrobras will make the payment in three stages in the hope that this will increase the firm’s growth in the ethanol industry, as well as boost Guarani’s investments into biofuels R&D.
In stage one $393 million will be invested in Guarani’s subsidiary Cruz Alta Participações and Tereos will supply its sugarcane from the Indian Ocean and starch assets from Europe.
Within the next five years Petrobras and Tereos may have the opportunity to invest further in the company - $527 million and $345 million respectively, which may result in Petrobras owning a 49% share by the year 2015.
The firm is also collaborating with Galp Energia that will see the construction of a biodiesel plant in Portugal.
Producing 250,000 tonnes of biodiesel each year, the refinery will process a 300,000-tonne-a-year supply of palm oil from the Brazilian state of Para.
The partnership will focus mainly on selling its biofuel to the Iberian market but other markets across Europe will also acquire it.
The partners will invest an estimated $530 million in the venture, with each partner paying an equal amount.
And due to commence its production of ethanol on 7 May is Petrobras’ Paulinia refinery located in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The refinery temporarily closed for maintenance and expansion, which saw the plant’s 18,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity increase to 390,000 bpd.
Brazil’s ethanol supply dried up this year following issues with the sugar cane harvest, which resulted in the nation having to import petrol for the first time in years. According to Paulo Roberto Costa, Petrobras’ supply director, the company was forced to import 1.2 million barrels of petrol in March and April this year, but will not be importing any more in May.
Finally, the giant is set to construct and operate a biodiesel production facility in the Brazilian state of Para, due to be online by July 2013.
The plant, expected to cost around BRL330 million (€140 million), will have the capacity to produce 120 million litres of biodiesel from palm oil, all of which will be consumed by the north of the country.
BRL240 million of the total cost will be invested in agriculture, while the remaining BRL90 million will be spent building the plant.
The refinery will also include a palm oil extraction facility, including crushers and a power co-generation unit.
Cultivation of the palm crops will begin this year with the acquisition of 1.1 million palm seeds. The seedlings are scheduled to be planted in the production areas in December 2011 before harvest begins in 2014.
The two projects combined will create around 7,000 jobs in both the agricultural and industrial sector. 2,250 local farmers will also be employed to plant the crops. .
Source: www.biofuels-news.com/industry_news.php
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Category:
Bioethanol,
Biodiesel,
Brazil
