PetroChina to develop 2nd-generation biofuels

PetroChina plans to produce second-generation biofuels, made from starchy low-input feedstocks, such as woodchips or straw, together with China’s State Forestry Administration. The oil and gas company did not say how much the deal was worth, but by 2010, it hopes to have the capacity to produce more than 2 million tons of non-grain based ethanol a year or 40% of the projected national output. In December 2006, PetroChina signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the production of ethanol fuel from non-food agricultural materials in Kunming, Yunnan, as well as biodiesel from oil-rich plants, such as jatropha. In November, PetroChina signed another MOU to build in Sichuan a 600,000-ton-a-year ethanol plant by 2010, using sweet potatoes as feedstock, and a 100,000-ton-a-year biodiesel plant using jatropha seeds as raw material. (January 15, 2007)