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Feature
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Written by Sabrina Deparine
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Monday, 31 May 2010 14:31 |
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Page views: 1818 |
one of the major oil companies in the Philippines, is scouting for more ethanol.
According to Petron Chairman and CEO Ramon Ang, 60% of their ethanol requirement for the current 5% blend comes from imported ethanol. With the coming mandate for 2011 which requires 10% ethanol blend, Ang is concerned that local ethanol producers may not be able to address the demand. In this case, oil companies have no choice but to import ethanol from other countries, affecting the pump prices negatively. To help address this concern, Petron is considering off-take agreements to help augment the supply from local producers.
The Biofuels Act of 2008 was expected to encourage more investments for the local biofuel industry. However, current supply volume is still not enough for the demand. Petron’s decision to pursue off-take agreements is an indication of their support for the local biofuel industry. In addition, Ang also said that this measure can help Filipinos by creating more jobs in rural areas and helping the country ease its dependence on imported oil.
For this year, statistics show that Philippine ethanol producers can only provide 38% of the total demand for ethanol.
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