Overview of biofuel cooperation agreements in the Global South

The past few months have seen a whole series of biofuel cooperation agreements being signed between countries in the developing world. To keep an oversight, we made a simple map showing these formal relations. Does it indicate that the 'Global South' knows that now is the time to work together and to build a green energy future? It seems so. Energy independence, energy security and 'energy leapfrogging' based on bioenergy are no longer vague concepts, they are gradually becoming a reality, in the South.

Clear avant-garde 'kernels' can be discerned by looking at the map: usual suspect Brazil is pulling several countries towards its own ethanol example, with agreements on all three continents in the South, sharing its knowledge about biofuels, and its state-of-the art technologies. In Asia, China, Malaysia and Indonesia are active players as well, with the latter two drawing on their decade long experience with oil palm plantations and their recent development of, for example, cold tolerant palm biodiesel.

The following overview merely draws attention to agreements signed directly between states in the southern hemisphere so far. We will regularly update the map. And in a later article we will be looking at socalled 'South North South' agreements, because these are being signed more and more often as well. Furthermore, many informal deals have seen the light of day, with companies (from either the South or the North) investing in a developing country, either as a purely private venture, or within the frame-work of public-private partnerships. We will map this growing network of relations soon. But let us now list the 'South South' agreements and highlight their most interesting aspects:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: developing world :: South South :: cooperation

Brazil - Panamá - June 2006
Panamá and Brazil are combining their strengths to create a centre for the global distribution of biofuels. Panamá has no petroleum reserves of its own and is looking to Brazilian expertise for a technology transfer program that should introduce local biofuels production. But more importantly, Panamá of course has its intercontinental Canal, facing both the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. And that's a great asset, especially for Brazil. Panamá would become a bioenergy hub, processing and distributing biofuels from Brazil for export to both the Far East, Europe and the United States's West Coast. See previous post.

Brazil - Venezuela - May 2006
The governments of Brazil and Venezuela signed an memorandum of understanding for energy cooperation on ethanol. In a first phase, Brazil's state oil company Petrobras is to deliver ethanol to Venezuela, and later to provide technical support in several areas, such as fuel reception, transportation, distribution, safety regulations, mix and transmix procedures...
The accord was negotiated between the Ministries of Energy of both countries, Petrobras, and PDVSA (the Venezuelan government-owned oil company). See previous post.

Brazil - Senegal - August 2006
Senegal recently launched the first phase of its biofuels program with direct support of Brazil's president Lula, and carried out by entrepreneurs from India. Senegal wants to learn and offers land and labor; Brazil brings in scientific and technological know-how; and Indian business makes sure that enough capital is in place. This public-private partnership is hailed as a win-win situation for all partners involved. See previous post.

Brazil - India - August/September 2006
Both countries held a round of talks on the topic of sugarcane acreage acquisitions by India. The Asian country wants to invest in energy security by controlling land suitable for the production of biofuels, mainly sugar cane for ethanol. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to flag the issue of Indian state-owned oil firms acquiring sugarcane fields in Brazil during his visit later this month (september). See previous post.

Brazil - Southern Africa (Mozambique/Angola/South Africa) - September 2006
The initiative for this cooperation agreement comes from the UK, which is taking the green energy revolution seriously, and wants multilateral cooperation agreements with biofuel leaders like Brazil to invest in the Global South. It is not clear yet which countries in Africa will benefit from the investment and the agreement, but the deal concerns the 'Southern African' region, with both Mozambique, Angola and South Africa as potential candidates. The first sights have been set on producing sugar cane for ethanol. See previous post.
In a very similar agreement, signed a few months earlier, France and Brazil agreed to work together on the development of biofuels in the South, more particularly in the 'poorest African countries' (probably in Francophone Africa) and in the Caribbean. See previous post.

PANPP: African Association of Non-Oil Producing Countries ('Pays Africains Non-Producteurs de Pétrole') - August 2006
15 African countries sign an agreement to work towards common energy security based on the sharing of knowledge and technology for the production of biofuels and bioenergy. The 'Green OPEC' is born, and more African countries are expected to join later this month, when the PANPP's second meeting takes place in Morocco. See previous posts.

Malaysia - Venezuela - August 2006.
Hugo Chavez's state visit to Malaysia resulted in an agreement between the two countries on the front of palm oil production for biofuels. In his usual flamboyant style, President Chavez immediately placed the cooperation deal in the context of the geopolitics of energy. See previous post.

Malaysia - China - August 2006
Both countries sign a research and development (R&D) cooperation deal to further develop biofuel and biomass production technologies. The agreement is aimed at exploiting the vast amounts of biomass that are produced on oil palm plantations. As we reported in an earlier post, only 10% of all this biomass is currently used as a feedstock for liquid biofuels. The 90% that are not used, are the object of this R&D deal between China and Malaysia. The development of bioconversion technologies that can utilize the many tons of palm biomass for the production of liquid fuels, would mean a great step forward for both countries, and for the global biofuels industry in general. See previous post.

Malaysia - Indonesia - May 2006
The world's largest palm oil producers team up to develop a fledgling palm based biodiesel and ethanol industry. Several cooperation agreements were signed, covering all the aspects of palm biofuel production, research, and marketing. See previous post.

India - Indonesia - August 2006
Both countries sign a trade-deal cutting tariffs on crude palm oil (CPO). The agreement is aimed at speeding up the development of palm biodiesel in India, whereby the country would import far more CPO than it currently does (India already is Indonesia's largest CPO client). The deal should also offset price-hikes were palm oil to increase on rising global palm biofuel demand. See here.

Burma - Thailand - August 2006
Thai investors, supported by the state, are seeking opportunities in Burma for the establishment of biofuel plantations. We are not sure whether a formal bilateral agreement has already been signed, but there has been talk of 'cooperation agreements' between the two countries on the national level. See previous post, and references there.

China - Nigeria - August 2006
Nigeria's central state of Niger and the Chinese government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a first ethanol plant in the state, with cassava as a feedstock. At the signing ceremony held in the state capital Minna, Secretary to the Niger State Government Adams Erena said the project "will gulp 11.6 billion naira" (about €60 million/US$ 90 million). He said a Chinese company would serve as a consultant to the project, adding that the company was expected to source 85 percent of the project investment through a soft loan from the Chinese government on 3 percent interest rate. See previous post.

Indian Ocean Island States with China and Malaysia - August 2006
A group of island states in the Indian Ocean -- Reunion, Madagascar and Mauritius -- are allying with China and Malaysia to create a regional biofuel production network. Mauritius, Malaysia and China deliver the know-how and technical expertise, whereas Madagascar and Réunion offer land for plantations.
Malaysia, with its expertise in palm oil production, would be the central node in the 'biodiesel axis', whereas China would focus on technology transfers concerning the 'ethanol axis'. See previous post.

Biopact, 2006, cc, some rights reserved.