Friday Edition

03.06.09

GLOBAL

Soybeans rose the most since February 6th on speculation that demand for food and livestock feed will improve as China boosts government spending in a bid to spur economic growth. CBOT soybean futures for May rose 1.8% to $8.685 a bushel, Bloomberg reports.

NORTH AMERICA

The North American Camelina Trade Association (NACTA) has been founded to promote new market research and development for camelina, including biodiesel production. NACTA currently consists of 13 US and Canadian companies.

PetroSun will provide five drums of algal B100 for three emissions studies being conducted by Carnegie Mellon, University of California in Los Angeles, and NextEnergy as part of an effort to establish a carbon credit program for commercial algae.

Four Rivers BioEnergy Inc. has completed the acquisition of Kreido Biofuels Inc. for $2.8 million in cash, 1.2 million Four Rivers shares, a warrant to purchase another 200,000 shares at $8 apiece, and the assumption of certain purchase orders.

On Thursday, Growth Energy released a report stating that raising the ethanol blending limit from 10% to 15% would create over 136,000 jobs and add more than $24 billion to the US economy. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman said Thursday that the issue was under discussion and congress may soon weigh in.

SOUTH AMERICA

Petrobras will invest $2.4 billion in ethanol and biodiesel production over the next five years. The company aims to produce 1.2 billion gallons of biodiesel and ethanol per year by 2012.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has ordered the takeover of a Venezuelan unit of Cargill. In a speech broadcast on state-run television, Chávez also threatened to seize control of privately- owned Polar.

EUROPE

Repsol has decided to postpone the construction of a $127 million, 150,000mt biodiesel plant in Tarragona, Spain due to current economic conditions.

ASIA / PACIFIC

Malaysia-based Sindora Bhd has proposed an exchange of oil palm plantations with Sime Darby to boost its CPO production, in which Sindora would exchange its 960 ha area in Batu Pahat with Sime Darby's 900 ha holdings in Kluang in order to add area for an oil extraction facility.

SK Chemicals has started commercial production at its 120,000 mt per year biodiesel plant in Ulsan, South Korea.

Japan Bio Energy Development Corp and Myanmar Green Energy will establish a joint venture, Japan-Myanmar Green Energy, to export 5,000 mt of Jatropha seeds in 2009 and construct a biofuels facility the following year.

Malaysia's average palm oil inventories are significantly lower this month than record highs reached last year. Malaysia's end-month palm oil stocks reached an all-time high of 2.27 million mt in November and were estimated at 1.83 million mt in January.

The Philippine Government is considering increasing the biodiesel mandate to 3% from 2% by year end.

Neste Oil said on Friday its $776 million, 800,000mt per year renewable diesel plant in Singapore is on track to be completed by June 2010 with production starting in Q3 of 2010.

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