APIC ’07: Taifer mulls bioethanol JV with CPC

17 May 2007 13:38  [Source: ICIS news]

TAIPEI (ICIS news)--Taiwan Fertilizer (Taifer) is looking at building a 10,000 kilolitre/year bioethanol plant in joint venture with refiner CPC Corp to fulfill local demand, company officials said.

 

The Taiwanese government is expected to implement E3, a 3% ethanol blend into gasoline by 2011, they said ahead of the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) on Thursday.

 

Ethanol demand is expected to rise to 300,000 kilolitres in 2015, when the government mandates the usage of the E5 blend, they added.

 

The project could be located either in Taichung or Pingtung, which is near CPC’s Kaohsiung refinery where blending will take place, the sources said.

 

Taifer will plant its own corn feedstock, which will boost the use of its fertilizers, they added.

 

However, the company was also considering importing ethanol depending on the government’s policy.

 

“If they decide to open up the market, we’ll import rather than produce. But if there are restrictions like taxes, we will build our own plant,” one of the sources said in Mandarin.

 

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

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