Japanese refiners to push biofuels use by 2013

March 19, 2008
Petroleum Association of Japan Chairman Fumiaki Watari said Japanese refiners will aim to substitute biofuels for 500,000 kl/year of oil equivalent of fuels by the business year ending in March 2013.

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Mar. 19 -- Fumiaki Watari, chairman of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), said Japanese refiners will aim to substitute biofuels for 500,000 kl/year of oil equivalent of fuels by the business year ending in March 2013.

The refiners' stated aim will more than double the initial target of a cut in refining of 210,000 kl/year by 2010, and it comes in response to government requests that the industry reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Watari said the industry would use only ethyl tertiary butyl ether to blend with gasoline.

He said PAJ will accept the new target if the government helps it tackle problems such as ensuring adequate imports of bioethanol. He also said PAJ wanted to know who would be responsible for CO2 emissions produced in transporting the fuel from overseas.

PAJ's announcement came as Mitsui & Co. Ltd and Brazil's state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA recently announced the formation of Participacoes Nippo Brasileira em Complexos Bioenergeticos SA, a 50-50 joint venture that will provide ethanol for the Japanese market (OGJ Online, Mar. 14, 2008).

Such changes also coincide with decisions by Japanese automakers to develop cars that use bioethanol fuel on the government view that they can help reduce consumption of gasoline.

Nissan Motor Co. received government approval for a sport utility vehicle that can run on E10, which has 10% ethanol, while Toyota Motor Corp. received government approval for a vehicle that runs on a gasoline-bioethanol mix.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].