PNOC unit signs jatropha supply contract

Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) has signed an off-take agreement with Royal Green Energy Development, Inc., for the sale of crude jatropha oil produced from the latter’s plantations. “PNOC-AFC will ensure that an Off-Take Allocation and Procurement Agreement, with discounted price for products, feedstocks from the plantation, is in place for both jatropha seed and crude jatropha oil supply, either for itself or for facilitation to other interested buyers,” President Peter Anthony A. Abaya said. Under a memorandum of understanding entered into by both parties, PNOC-AFC will secure crude jatropha oil from Royal Green while PNOC-AFC will provide Royal Green with technical support. The state-owned company is looking to plant more than 700,000 hectares of jatropha and construct several refineries to produce biofuels. Royal Green is a Philippine corporation, which applies highly intensive technology to massively propagate high-yielding jatropha special varieties. It has plantations in Palawan and Mindanao. PNOC-AFC is a subsidiary of state-owned PNOC. (September 26, 2007)