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PetroVietnam sets up biofuel firm
The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) is establishing a biofuel production and distribution company.
The company will produce ethanol, from cassava, which is mixed with gasoline, to help the country reduce environmental pollution and limit its dependence on fossil fuels.
Located in Binh Son District, in the central province of Quang Ngai, the PetroVietnam Biofuel Joint Stock Company has charter capital of VND45 billion (roughly US$2.7 million).
PetroVietnam General Services Joint Stock Corporation (Petrosetco) will hold 51 per cent of the company; the newly established PetroVietnam Oil Corporation, 29 per cent; Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd, 15 per cent; and PetroVietnam Finance Joint Stock Corporation (PVFC), 5 per cent.
The project is a part of the biofuel development programme, ratified by the Government last year. The programme aims to develop strategies for 2015 with a vision to 2025 for the production of renewable energy and the partial replacement of traditional fuels.
As part of the programme, around 250,000 tonnes of ethanol and vegetable oil will be produced to meet 1 per cent of the country’s petroleum demand by 2015.
Energy conference
As traditional fuels grow scarce, Viet Nam was focusing efforts on researching and developing renewable energy, according to experts at a recent conference on biofuel development for the agricultural sector held in Ha Noi.
Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Kim Son said at the symposium that in the future, crude oil and coal would diminish and other traditional energy sources, including nuclear sources, would fail to meet local demand.
The energy crisis would send oil prices even higher, causing great difficulties for Viet Nam and the rest of the world.
Like many other countries, Viet Nam has begun to use wind, solar and biogas; however, the scale and output of these clean energy projects is still minimal.
Viet Nam has the potential to develop biofuel from sugar cane, cassava and seaweed, among other sources. In addition, by-products like rubber, fish fat, and recycled lubricants can be used to manufacture fuels that replace petrol.
No matter what the direction, participants said, Viet Nam needed a clear strategy for developing environmentally friendly, sustainable fuel sources at reasonable cost.
However, despite the economic and environmental benefits of using plants to manufacture biofuels, participants at the seminar raised concerns about the downside of converting food to fuel. With food security problems a real issue and cultivation plots shrinking, and some question the wisdom of relying on that already dwindling source to replace another.
VNS
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