Work on US$31M Ethanol Plant to Start Mar 2010 in Vietnam Southern Province

PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), an affiliate of the state-run oil monopoly PetroVietnam Group, is accelerating preparations in order to begin construction of a US$31-million ethanol plant by March 2010 in the southern province of Binh Phuoc, said PetroVietnam’s CEO Dinh La Thang.

 

PV Oil will buy 230,000 tons of cassava annually from 10,000 local growers as raw material to convert into ethanol.

 

On July 24, PetroVietnam signed a cooperation agreement with provincial authorities to boost investment in infrastructure as well as to develop liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storehouse systems and petroleum, LPG and fertilizer trading networks in the locality.

 

Vietnam expects to turn out 250,000 tons of ethanol and vegetable fuel oil by 2015 to feed 1 per cent of the national petroleum demand.

 

According to global energy corporations, by 2012, world supplies of ethanol will have increased to 79.3 billion liters and the utilization rate of ethanol as fuel will have increased to 85 per cent.