Brazil’s Petrobras plans to set up a logistics structure in China to distribute Brazilian ethanol, the company’s spokesperson told Macauhub.
Sao Paulo, Brazil, 15 Nov – Brazil’s Petrobras plans to set up a logistics structure in China to distribute Brazilian ethanol, the company’s spokesperson told Macauhub.
According to the spokesperson Petrobras was considering acquiring a Chinese company, setting up a joint venture with a local company or setting up partnerships with Chinese associations.
The oil company’s plans to create a structure to distribute ethanol in China reflect the strategy already used in Japan.
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There Petrobras set up a joint venture with Japan’s Mitsui and Brazilian mining company, Companhia do Vale do Rio Doce to distribute the fuel in the country.
The first lot of Brazilian ethanol will be sent to Japan at the beginning of 2007, Petrobras has said.
No date has been set for creating the structure in China and the company plans to carry out studies to decide which is the bets business model.
China recently said it planned to replace 50 percent of the gasoline used in the country with ethanol by 2010.
One of Petrobras’ other projects is to export the ethanol to Asia using ships with a capacity of between 80,000 and 100,000 cubic meters.
Petrobras, which is the 15th most profitable oil company in the world, posted net profit of 23.7 billion reals (US$11 billion), in 2005, a rise of 40 percent against 2004.
Brazil is the largest ethanol producer and exporter in the world and in 2005 production totaled 15 billion liters.
Of that total, 2.5 billion were exported, which generated revenue of US$325 million) for the country, according to figures from the Brazilian Agricultural Economy Institute and the National Sugar Cane Commission.
From January to September 2006, Brazil exported 2.3 billion liters of ethanol to 34 countries, according to the Brazilian Agriculture, Farming and Supply Ministry.
International demand for Brazilian ethanol – extracted from plants such as sugar cane and considered to be an eco-friendly fuel - has increased as it is an alternative to oil and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. (macauhub) |
