Bolivia opens first biodiesel plant to curb imports

: Biofuels
24/03/27

Bolivia inaugurated operations of a 1,500 b/d biodiesel plant this week, the first in the country and part of a strategy to lower crude imports.

The plant, in the eastern Santa Cruz department, will use oil seeds, palm oil and recycled cooking oil as feedstock, according to state-run oil company YPFB. A second biodiesel plant that will also run on similar feedstocks is under construction in El Alto, in the highland La Paz region, scheduled for completion in November.

Bolivia has traditionally imported crude, but years of declining oil and natural gas reserves and increased demand has required it to increase imports. It has exported gas to neighboring Argentina and Brazil via pipeline, but the falling reserves will force it to stop exports to Argentina in October. It plans to continue exporting to Brazil for the rest of the decade.

Bolivia consumes around 35,000 b/d of diesel and 34,000 b/d of gasoline, but produces 12,000 b/d and 20,000 b/d, respectively.

It imported a 150,000 bl shipment of crude from Argentina in early March, and plans to import 1.6mn bl this year.

YPFB is also working on a hydrotreated vegetable oil plant in Santa Cruz, with a second one planned for La Paz.

Bolivia is the tenth-largest soybean producer in the world, with output of 3.4mn t in 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.

By Lucien Chauvin

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25/05/15

Verkehrssektor verfehlt Klimaziele

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France consults on expanded biofuels mandate

25/05/15

France consults on expanded biofuels mandate

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UK ethanol sector sees lower prices from US trade deal

25/05/14

UK ethanol sector sees lower prices from US trade deal

London, 14 May (Argus) — The UK ethanol sector expects prices to fall because of the recent trade deal with the US, but participants are divided on the scale of the effect. The trade deal has cut import duties on US ethanol to zero on higher volumes than recent import levels, raising the prospect of large amounts of US product crossing the Atlantic. The UK was the second largest destination for US ethanol exports in 2024, taking more than 923mn l, or 13pc of all exports, according to US industry group Renewable Fuels Association. The UK imposed a duty of £16/hectolitre ($21/hectolitre) for undenatured ethanol and £8.50/hectolitre for denatured ethanol, which the trade deal will remove. Zero tariffs will be applied to up to 1.4bn l/yr. European renewable ethanol association ePure told Argus the deal presents a "huge problem" for UK and EU ethanol producers, a view echoed by some UK market participants. But some active in the UK ethanol market have said that while they do not expect greater amounts of ethanol to arrive in the country, they do anticipate lower prices and lower domestic production. The operators of the UK's two major ethanol-producing facilities, Vivergo and Cropenergies, said there will be zero tariffs on "the size of the UK's whole ethanol market", and said they may have to close. According to Argus data the total UK production capacity for wheat-based ethanol is over 736mn l/yr. The National Farmers' Union expressed concern about the deal's effect on arable farmers, and said it is "working through what this means for the viability of the domestic bioethanol production." Although a healthy share of the total import pool from the US is waste-based, the UK government is consulting on whether to continue classing the main waste feedstock imported from the US as eligible for double counting under its renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO). Staging post UK producers may still seek to maximise imports from the US for onward export into the EU. The current EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows for zero tariffs and quotas on all trade of UK and EU goods that comply with appropriate rules or origin. But with this new deal, there is an increased chance of US ethanol entering the EU via the UK, Epure said. "Under existing customs rules US ethanol can be mixed with UK ethanol and thus avoid an EU duty," it said. This may include major proportion, which limits the share of non-originating materials to claim UK origin, or inward processing relief, which allows for imports to be processed without paying import duties or value added tax (VAT) before re-export. Some market participants contested the extent to which UK-EU flows of ethanol with partial US origin might happen, suggesting the imported ethanol would need to undergo a significant chemical change to be classified as duty free, such as being used as feedstock for products including ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE). EPure said the EU should be wary, and called for ethanol to be included in a final list of products subject to EU countermeasures, as it was in a recent proposal from the bloc currently under public consultation. By Toby Shay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

MUFG to invest $30mn in Japanese biofuels firm Euglena

25/05/14

MUFG to invest $30mn in Japanese biofuels firm Euglena

Singapore, 14 May (Argus) — Japanese bank MUFG has agreed to purchase up to $30mn of shares in Japanese biofuels developer Euglena, which will allow Euglena to increase its share in a joint venture to build a biorefinery in Malaysia. Euglena will issue the shares in stages via their overseas special purpose company Euglena Sustainable Investment (Esil). Esil currently owns a 5pc equity of the joint venture and plans to increase its share up to the maximum of 15pc with the new funding. The other partners are Eni's biofuels unit Enilive and Malaysian state-owned refiner Petronas' Petronas Mobility Lestari. The biorefinery started construction in the fourth quarter of 2024, and is scheduled to start operations in the latter half of 2028. It will have the capacity to process about 650,000 t/yr of raw materials, such as used vegetable oils, animal fats, waste from the processing of vegetable oils and other biomass including microalgae oils, to produce up to 725 kilolitres/yr of SAF, hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and bio-naphtha. The biofuel developer, whose initial business was the cultivation of the microalgae Euglena for food, had previously also announced that it will put more emphasis on UCO procurement and SAF supply to domestic consumers. Euglena aims to achieve a production capacity of 100,000 t/yr of microalgae-based oil by the 2030s, and is currently working with Petronas' subsidiary Petronas Research in a joint study to establish technology for large-scale microalgae production. But microalgae has so far faced challenges in commercialising as a biofuels feedstock, including high production costs, difficulty scaling up and low lipid yields. By Deborah Sun Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Ampol imports Australia's largest SAF cargo into Sydney

25/05/14

Ampol imports Australia's largest SAF cargo into Sydney

Sydney, 14 May (Argus) — Australian fuel retailer and refiner Ampol imported a cargo of nearly 2mn litres (700t) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into Sydney Airport on 7 May, marking the largest ever commercial SAF import into Australia. The fuel — sourced from Malaysia — was imported into Ampol's Kurnell facility near Sydney Airport, where the former's oil refinery has direct pipeline access into the airports refuelling the supply chain. There are no plans to import more SAF cargoes into Sydney Airport in the near term, a source close to the matter said. Ampol's managing director and chief executive officer, Matthew Halliday, said "this delivery marks Ampol's first major import of SAF into Australia and leverages our advanced supply chain infrastructure to deliver this product directly from a key domestic fuel terminal to the nation's busiest airport." Sydney Airport accounts for nearly 40pc of Australia's total jet fuel consumption, according to the airport's chief executive officer Scott Charlton. The announcement came a day after Ampol said it is shifting its focus to electric vehicle charging and renewable fuels , by selling its electricity retail businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Australian airline Qantas is the end user of the imported SAF cargo.The fuel, once blended at a ratio of approximately 18pc, could power the equivalent of 900 flights from Sydney to Auckland on Qantas 737 aircraft, Qantas said. This will cut resulting carbon emissions from those flights by a total estimated 3,400t, it added. Qantas is targeting 10pc of its fuel use to come from SAF by 2030 and approximately 60pc by 2050. Qantas' chief executive officer Vanessa Hudson said "the creation of a SAF industry is key to our efforts towards the decarbonisation of aviation, increasing Australia's fuel security and creating thousands of new jobs across our economy … we pick up 70pc of our fuel in Australia so we're looking forward to working closely with the government to chart the next course for SAF in Australia." This import of SAF follows the signing of an initial agreement between Qantas and Sydney Airport to work together to further facilitate the development of a domestic SAF industry in Australia. If established, domestic SAF production has the potential to contribute approximately A$13bn/yr ($8.4bn/yr) in gross domestic product by 2040, while supporting nearly 13,000 jobs in the feedstock supply chain and creating 5,000 new jobs to build and run the facilities, according to a Qantas and Airbus ICF report published in 2023. Consultations on a potential biofuels mandate in New South Wales (NSW) are expected to begin in the near future. NSW minister for climate change, energy and environment, Penny Sharpe, said "we want to see a strong domestic SAF industry here in NSW, which is a win-win for jobs, fuel security and the planet". By Tom Woodlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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