Cosan, Shell’s biofuel joint venture almost complete

Brazil’s Cosan, the world’s biggest cane sugar and ethanol producer, will finalize a deal with global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell over a US$12 billion joint venture in biofuels, Cosan Chief Executive Marcos Lutz said. Once the deal with Cosan is completed, it will mark the biggest-ever foray into biofuels by an oil major. The venture, which would create the No. 3 fuel distributor in Latin America’s largest country, underscores cane ethanol’s lure as an alternative to gasoline. (August 14, 2010)