Brazil Petrobras Starts E3 Fuel Production, Sales In Japan
CNNMoney.com:
Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), or Petrobras, said Tuesday that it has started the production and sale of gasoline blended with ethanol at service stations in Japan.
The first delivery of so-called E3 fuel, which is gasoline mixed with 3% sugarcane ethanol, was made at a gas station in Tokyo, Petrobras said. A company spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires in September that the sales were expected to start in March.
The E3 fuel was produced by Brazil Japan Ethanol, a joint venture formed by Petrobras and Japan Alcohol Trading. Brazil Japan Ethanol partnered with Japan’s Environmental Ministry to build a plant to produce the fuel at Sodeguara in central Japan.
The plant has installed capacity to produce up to 3 million liters of E3 fuel per month, which will be sold at independent fuel stations throughout Japan. Gasoline for the fuel will be supplied by the Nansei Sekiyu refinery in Okinawa. Petrobras holds an 87.5% stake in the refinery.
In April 2008, Petrobras completed its purchase of the stake in Nansei Sekiyu KK from ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM). Petrobras is upgrading the refinery to process heavy Brazilian crude for Japan and other Asian markets. The refinery also has large fuel storage facilities, which could be used for fuel trading throughout Asia.
The delivery of the first E3 fuel followed Petrobras’ efforts to expand into ethanol both in Brazil and abroad. Brazil is the world’s second-largest producer of ethanol, which is made from sugarcane, and Petrobras has identified Japan as a key future market for the fuel.
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