PNOC to start commercial production of JME soon

State-owned Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) said it plans to start commercial production in September at a 400,000 liter per year jatropha methyl ester (JME) plant in Bataan province. The availability of JME would enable the Philippines to meet its mandated mix of biodiesel with petroleum-based fuel, said Romeo P. Tolentino, PNOC-AFC president and chief executive officer, in an interview at the launch of the Department of Science and Technology’s jatropha biodiesel processing facility. The Philippines’ Biofuels Act, passed in January 2007, mandated 1% biodiesel blending from April 2007 and 2% blending from January 2009. The act also requires ethanol to account for 5% of total gasoline sales until 2011 when the target rises to 10%. (June 30, 2010)