K2.5B Sepik biofuel project set to start

Japan-based Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd. will be venturing into bio and alternative fuel production in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The company has signed a memorandum of agreement with the PNG government for a US$800 million project that will be set on the country’s Sepik plains, which has been identified as a suitable location for the project. The raw materials chosen for the project include corn, cassava and peanut as well as kunai grass, corn and oil palm. The East Sepik provincial government will contribute US$34,250 for the registration of incorporated land groups (ILG) that will join the project. Cosmo Oil has been in PNG for the last three to four years and had been studying potential locations in Madang, Lae and other parts of the country before deciding on the Sepik plains. The deal was initially signed in November 2008 but has been delayed following political issues in the country. (March 18/19, 2009)