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| Thailand partnership in $40-million biodiesel initiative |
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| Wednesday, 19 July 2006 | |
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PTT Public Company, Thailand's state-owned oil firm, and Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), a leading agro-industrial and foods conglomerate, have signed an initial agreement to develop biodiesel, according to a PTT senior official.
Anon Sirisaengtaksin, PTT Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Corporate Strategy and Development, said PTT and CP would, under the agreement, jointly promote the processing of biodiesel from oil palm.
The move was part of the Energy Ministry's plan to promote the use of alternative energy, he said, adding that PTT was in the process of holding talks with the Treasury Department to lease CP’s 60,000 acres of unused land in the South of Thailand to grow oil palm.
"Palm oil from the plantation will serve as raw material for bio-diesel production,” he said.
CP would be responsible for the growing process and encouraging farmers to grow palm trees, he said.
PTT and CP would jointly set up new plants for the palm oil extraction and biodiesel production with a capacity of 100,000 litres per day.
It is expected that the entire investment would cost approximately USD $40 million, he said.
He added that profit sharing for palm growers who joined the project would be fixed at a later date while the price and supply of palm oil would also be closely monitored to prevent shortages in the future.
See previous story featuring PTT Public Company:
Toyota Thailand funds jatropha research http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/264/2/
David Smith, Singapore
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