Seaoil to invest P1.5 billion on alternative fuel facilities

Seaoil Philippines Inc., one of the country’s most aggressive small oil players, is likely to invest more than P1.5 billion to put up facilities for alternative fuels.

Seaoil president Glenn Yu said they are looking at the feasibility of putting up a P1.5-billion ethanol plant and the conversion of an existing Metro Manila gas pump station into an auto LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) station.

Yu said these are among the company’s contributions in the development of alternative fuels in the country.

He said they may spend between P5 million to P50 million to convert the existing petroleum pump station into an LPG refilling station.

According to Yu, there are already some taxi fleets that are now using LPG to run their engines.

For the ethanol plant, he said they would start construction 18 to 24 months after an ethanol bill is passed in Congress.

"We are considering to be an active player in the bioethanol business if the law will be passed. I heard the bill is already in its final stages," he said.

He said they may tap a partner to put up the ethanol plant in a location which has yet to be identified.

Seaoil recently started selling E-10, an ethanol-blended gasoline, in all its gas stations.

"With oil prices so high, we have to study all our alternatives," the company official said.

Earlier, Seaoil also joined small oil firms in selling biodiesel, a diesel fuel additive derived from coconut oil.

British firm Bronzeoak Phils. and Bukidnon Sugar Milling Corp. (BUSCO) are also planning to construct their respective fuel ethanol plants in Bukidnon province in the next three years.

Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, House vice chairman for natural resources, in an interview said the two groups are in the process of completing their feasibility studies.

An ethanol plant with a 25-megawatt capacity requires about P1.5 billion worth of investment.

Ethanol is an alternative energy resource produced from crops such as corn, grain sorghum, wheat, sugar and other agricultural feedstocks. It can be used as a transportation fuel, as a blend to gasoline, a component of reformulated gasoline, or a primary fuel with gasoline as blend.