BIOMASS HUB

The Manila Times ran a story in early June 2010 showing that oil companies in Philippines were running afoul of the country’s Biofuel Act of 2006, which requires that all liquid fuels for motors and engines contain locally sourced biofuels.

Specifically, the Biofuels Act mandates that oil companies increase their ethanol blend by 10 percent next year.  Due to lack of supply oil, however, firms are unlikely to comply with the mandate.  The law allowed ethanol to be imported in the first four years, but by 2011 oil companies are mandated to source all their ethanol requirements domestically.

The Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) has argued that domestic producers are unable to comply with the 2011 mandate and that prices are expected to go up.  According to the ethanol industry, most oil firms continue to source most of their ethanol requirements from countries like Brazil because of limited local production.

While oil players, especially the independent companies, support the move to increase the ethanol blend to 10 percent by 2011, they have called on the government to provide an easier method to import the much-needed products.