PNOC unit invests in ethanol facility

PNOC Alternative Fuels Corp., which has abandoned its failed venture in jatropha, plans to enter the local ethanol industry through its planned investment in the P3.2-billion facility of Cavite Biofuels.

Sources familiar with the transaction separately told reporters Monday that PNOC-AFC, the alternative fuels arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co., is in talks with the project proponents regarding the government’s planned participation in the ethanol project.

One source noted that Cavite Biofuels was looking to close the deal within the second quarter of this year and start construction of the proposed 34-millon-liter-a-year facility by June 2012.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras, meanwhile, declined to divulge details, noting that he was not privy to the details of the ongoing negotiations between PNOC-AFC and Cavite Biofuels, whose facility has been accredited by the Department of Energy.

But Almendras did say that PNOC-AFC would continue to play a role in the development of alternative fuels in the Philippines.

“PNOC-AFC will continue to try to develop certain feedstocks using more viable technologies and more viable crops. The Department of Agriculture has identified so many crops that can be used as feedstock so that’s the role of PNOC-AFC, to identify which is more suitable,” Almendras explained.

Almendras earlier announced that PNOC-AFC had abandoned the development of jatropha as a possible biofuel source, as it intended to divert the remaining funds originally earmarked for jatropha to other alternatives.