Wednesday Edition

10.01.08

GLOBAL

If crude petroleum oil is around $100/barrel-plus or minus 10%, CPO prices may have to fall to $639/mt or lower and remain there for a sustained period to increase demand and clear surplus stocks, Dow Jones reports. The price outlook for oilseeds is also likely to be bearish for the next few months due to favorable weather.

European rapeseed prices are expected to remain fragile this week as worries about the financial crisis, combined with weaker crude oil and healthy oilseed harvests push prices past key support levels, Reuter reports.

NORTH AMERICA

According to news reports, the US Senate will attached its version of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill to a House bill passed last week to extend a variety of energy tax incentives, including the $1 federal tax credit for biodiesel production. The US Senate is expected to consider the bailout bill today, which if passed would go to the US House later this week.

The US is positioned to become the single largest biodiesel market with 19% of consumption by 2012, according to a report released Tuesday by Menlo Park, CA-based SRI Consulting. SRI also said the biodiesel industry grew 50% from 2002-2007 - the largest growth in the chemical industry - and is poised to grow at 30% between 2007 and 2012.

Oregon-based Portland General Electric, together with Columbia Energy Partners, says it will capture CO2 emissions from its Boardman coal plant to feed algae grown in tubs adjacent to the plant to produce algal oil for biodiesel production.

PetroTech Holdings has acquired Florida-based PetroAlgae to bring algae technology to commercial-scale. The company is using algae strains that have been developed and licensed by researchers at Arizona State University.

The Tennessee Oilseed Diversification Program, initiated by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation in conjunction with Frazier Barnes and Associates, will identify high-value oilseed crops that can be produced in Tennessee, and develop a plan to locally process the crops for biofuel.

California-based Pacific Ethanol has begun production at its 60 million gallon per year ethanol plant in Stockton, CA. Ethanol from the plant is expected to be marketed through Pacific Ethanol's wholly-owned subsidiary, Kinergy Marketing.

Ontario will no longer require 10% ethanol in gasoline by 2010, but instead will seek a broader range of fuel alternatives, including biodiesel and other renewable energies, according to Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. There will also be a focus on a Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

CARIBBEAN

Amelot Oil Barbados has formed a new partnership with McGill University in Quebec, Canada for development of the island's biodiesel refining facilities. University students will develop a marketing program to promote using the island's used cooking oil for biodiesel.

There are about 1.5 million acres of dry and arid land in Haiti suitable for jatropha plantations that could create thousands of rural jobs and help solve energy supply problems, the Miami Herald reports. Jatropha is abundant in Haiti and has been used by Voodoo practitioners there for generations to purge evil spirits and release the trapped souls of the dead.

EUROPE

Flex Fuels Energy of the UK has updated design and construction plans for its oilseed processing and biodiesel facility. The company is reviewing a number of tender submissions for the proposed facility in Cardiff, South Wales.

Bosnia's Sistem Ecologica has opened the first biodiesel plant in the state. The plant has an initial annual capacity of 180,000mt and has started processing imported oils and fats, but will start buying rapeseed from domestic producers as of next year.

In France, the draft 2009 budget revealed that the country will gradually end fuel tax reductions for biofuels by 2012. The government came to its decision by assuming that rising petroleum prices will make biofuels relatively less expensive.

The Irish government will announce a revised biofuels plan that will set a target of 3% biofuel in transport fuel by 2010 and require strict sustainability certifications. The previous target was set at 5.75% last year.

ASIA / PACIFIC

PetroSun has concluded an agreement with Shanghai Jun Ya Yan Technology Development to establish a commercial scale algae farm pilot facility in China. The complex will produce algal for biodiesel and ethanol.

By the first half of November, total palm oil stocks in Indonesia and Malaysia may exceed a record 5 million mt, and demand for vegetable oils for biofuel may increase by 2.5 million mt in the next crop year beginning in October if the price of palm oil stays below that of crude oil, according to market watchers.

In Guam, Lucky One Pumping Service and Taniguchi Ruth Makio Architects have been producing biodiesel from used cooking oil since 2001, allowing Lucky One's fleet of trucks to run on biodiesel. The two companies produce about 40 gallons per day and plan to increase output to 120 gallons per day in the near future.

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Fortescue Metals Group has signed a multi-million dollar contract with ARF, a Western Australian biodiesel producer, in which ARF will supply 2 million gallons per year. ARF expects to have bulk storage facilities at the site ready in three months.

In New Zealand, oil companies said that motorists should not expect radical changes at petrol or diesel pumps on October 1st when the government's biofuel sales mandate begins. The industry will have up to 15 months to comply with the mandate.

Ecodiesel of Auckland plans to establish a commercial-scale tallow biodiesel plant by May, 2009. Mandatory biofuel use in New Zealand has provided incentive for commercial production, the company says.

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