Flying V seeks tax perks for its P800-M ethanol project

Flying V, one of the country’s most aggressive oil players, has submitted to the Board of Investment (BOI) an application for tax incentives for its proposed P800-million ethanol project in the town of Mariveles, Bataan.

Macky Lopez, Flying V spokesman, said they would start tapping interested investors for the said 60,000-liter per day ethanol refinery.

Lopez said the company is committed to put up the ethanol plant and plans are now being finalized for the construction of the said ethanol facility.

"Even as we wait for the passage of the BioFuels Law still pending, we at Flying V continue to support the government’s alternative fuels program. We hope foreign investors will partner with us in this endeavor. Export opportunities of ethanol is great," Lopez said.

The Flying V official said now is the time to shift to ethanol to lessen the country’s dependence on imported gasoline.

"At this time of high oil prices in the world market, we should intensify the use of alternative fuels especially ethanol to reduce our dependence on imported fuel," Lopez said.

Ethanol is an alternative energy resource produced from crops such as sugar, corn, grain sorghum, wheat 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.

Industry studies showed that the use of ethanol-blended fuels reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 12 to 19 percent compared to conventional gasoline. It was estimated that in 2003, ethanol use in the US reduced gas emissions at a level equivalent to removing 853,000 cars from the highways.

Flying V has already sold E10 or gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol. However, ethanol supply is still being imported from Brazil. Flying V has started studies on the possibility of putting up its own ethanol plant in August last year.

The government’s ethanol program aims to intensify the use of bio-fuels in the transport sector by blending a minimum of five percent bio-ethanol fuel into all gasoline-fed motor vehicles.