Bulk Of Brazi's Ethanol Exports Bound For Japan - Oil & Gas Journal

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LOS ANGELES, Mar. 6 -- The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) with $8 billion to help it export ethanol to Japan.

As a result of the aid, annual shipments to Japan by Petrobras are expected to rocket to 3 billion l., with the Asian country taking nearly 90% of Brazil's available exports. In 2006, Brazil exported 3.4 billion l. of ethanol, of which less than 7%, or 225.4 million l., went to Japan.

The JBIC assistance will help Petrobras expand output and sales to Japan, with financing to cover ethanol plants, storage tanks, pipelines, and ports, according to a Mar. 4 report in Brazil's largest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, which quoted Petrobras executive Paulo Roberto Costa. Projects to be evaluated include the production and sale of ethanol and biodiesel, electric power plants using sugar cane bagasse as raw material, and carbon credit opportunities.

On Feb. 26, it was announced that Japan's Marubeni Corp. and Dutch grain trader Agrenco Group in 2008 plan jointly to start producing biodiesel from Brazilian soybean oil (OGJ Online, Feb. 26, 2007). And on Feb. 27 Petrobras announced an MOU with Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Brazilian Construces e Comercio Camargo Correa SA to study the construction of pipelines for exporting ethanol (OGJ Online, Feb 28, 2007).

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http://www.ogj.com/articles/article_display.cfm?article_id=286332