Wednesday Edition

08.13.08

GLOBAL

More palm oil is likely to be used for biofuel production in the near future as falling prices have made it more competitive for biodiesel producers, Reuters reports. Oil World calculates that palm oil is at its most competitive price against crude oil since September 2006.

The fall in the price of palm oil is due to a question of supply and demand, and not directly linked to the drop in crude oil prices, according to futures traders and industry executives. The price of palm oil traded in the futures market has been falling due to an oversupply of vegetable oils worldwide.

NORTH AMERICA

The USDA forecast 3.1 billion pounds of soybean oil will be used during 2008-09 for biodiesel production and ethanol producers will use 4.1 billion bushels (33%) of this year's forecast US corn crop.

Imperium Renewables has confirmed the closing of its office in Honolulu, HI, raising questions about whether the company will proceed with its planned $91 million, 100 million gallon per year biodiesel plant on O'ahu. The plant is planned to supply a 110-megawatt Hawaiian Electric Company generating facility that is to be built nearby.

AE Biofuels has opened its integrated cellulosic ethanol commercial demonstration facility in Butte, MT. The plant uses cellulosic and starch-based feedstocks.

Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality said funding has been restored for incentives to help smaller communities clean up old work sites for biodiesel facilities.

In Connecticut, a 4-8 million gallon per year biodiesel plant in Cheshire, which is almost ready for service, is up for sale at an auction. The plant is the single largest asset of F&S Oil Co., a Waterbury-based heating oil company that closed abruptly.

International Coastal Biofuels has received a Letter of Intent from Eco-Energy for the purchase of 100% of its production from its Wilmington, NC biodiesel plant. Eco-Energy said it will purchase 30 million gallons per year for three years.

According to a Montana State University associate professor, winter canola may be a good choice for some farmers this year. Winter canola could be "enormously profitable" and unlike some oilseeds, can be used as a food oil crop with high-quality meal for livestock or for biodiesel.

The availability of home-kits and online instructions to filter fryer oil for biodiesel is increasing grease thefts nationwide. However, according to the spokeswoman for Agri-Source Fuels, producing a quality product that will not harm engines remains a key challenge for people using home-produced biodiesel.

SOUTH AMERICA

Amiworld, a New York energy development and investment company, has announced a plan to increase biodiesel production by 300% at its South American facility. Amiworld’s biofuels division is projecting production growth from 36,000 mt per year to 108,000 mt per year by 2009.

Argentina is on track to produce 6% of the world's biodiesel output, Dow Jones reports. Argentina exported 237,000 mt of biodiesel during the first six months of 2008, up from the 163,000 mt shipped during all of 2007. Exports for 2008 are expected to reach 600,000 mt valued at $584 million, up from $135 million in 2007.

Petrobras is considering participating in the construction of two ethanol plants in Columbia, with Columbian biodiesel investments to be determined, the company stated.

Brazil's federal development bank BNDES has approved $79 million in financing to help the BBE-Brasil Bioenergia construct a biodiesel plant.

EUROPE

According to a report by the UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs, oil prices could reach $200 per barrel if demand does not decrease over the next five to ten years. Inadequate investments by national and international oil companies and a supply crunch around 2013 could lead to the spike. The Institute said energy policy needed to reduce oil demand, increase oil supplies or increase non-conventional fuels such as biofuels.

The French National Research Agency (ANR) has launched a two-year research project to identify biofuel feedstocks for industrial-scale production.

ASIA / PACIFIC

The Indonesian government will provide incentives, including free VAT and automotive vehicle tax reductions, for the biofuel industry as the result of its biofuel mandate. The Director General of Oil and Gas said the incentives would be decided when the mandate begins in October.

Indonesian biodiesel sales in the first quarter of 2008 totaled only half of 2007 sales in the same period due partly to the increase in palm oil costs. The Agriculture Minister said Indonesia was projected to produce 19 million mt of crude palm oil in 2009.

CARIBBEAN

Amelot Oil Barbados has completed its biodiesel plant in Saint Thomas, Barbados. The first production trial successfully produced one hundred gallons of biodiesel, the company says.

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli alternative energy start-up Galten has completed the research and development stages of its jatropha biodiesel pilot program in Africa. The company has contracts with Petrobras and a European refinery for the off-take of the oil.

Countries in the Middle East are looking to purchase around 200,000 mt of palm oil over the next few weeks for shipment in end-August and September because the countries have not fully covered their short term requirements, Dow Jones reports.

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