A major future in biofuel

In a recent report by Pike Research, Shell and BP were named as the two oil companies that are the best positioned to make a profit from biofuels. Refiners are beginning to take note, and governments are also waking up to the fact that they will need to meet biofuel mandates over the coming years.

According to Bill Day, executive director of media relations at transportation fuel manufacturer Valero Energy, the US refinery “got into the ethanol business because, as a producer and marketer of petrol, we were mandated to use ethanol in petrol. We figured that if we were going to be required to use it, we might as well be on the production side of the business.”

According to Day, other biotechnology is lagging behind the ethanol industry due to the higher costs of production.

Source: Biofuels International, April 2012, Issue 3, Volume 6.