Petrobras reaffirms its biofuels and energy partnership in Mozambique
The executives visited Mozambique's Ministry of Energy and its National Oil Company. During the meeting, the possible partnership between Petrobras and Petromoc, the Mozambican company equivalent to Petrobras Distribuidora in Brazil, was reaffirmed. The idea is to operate in the Mozambican biofuel market and, possibly, in fuel exports.
President Guebuza is expected to visit Brazil next September, when he will meet his Brazilian counterpart, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Petrobras' president José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, to sign an agreement between the two governments in the energy area.
Petrobras is already in business in Mozambique with the Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), that country's national oil company, since last year. A memorandum of understandings was signed on that occasion for oil and natural gas exploration and for biofuel research and production in Mozambican territory (earlier post). The company also has a partnership with Petronas, from Malaysia, to work in an exploration block in the mouth of River Zambezi, in Mozambique.
Mozambique is receiving considerable interest from biofuel investors, because of its stable economy, attractive investment climate and above all, its major technical biofuel production potential:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: Brazil :: Mozambique ::
Experts working for the International Energy Agency estimate that Mozambique alone can produce nearly 7 Exajoules worth of liquid biofuels for exports, without threatening food supplies for its rapidly growing population or biodiversity and protected conservation areas (more here).
This amount is roughly equal to a production of 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (and given its renewability, this 'green reserve' lasts for decades). In order to actualise the potential, the country does need an influx of investments in agronomic knowledge and skills, logistical infrastructures and biofuel production plants. On all these fronts, the Lusophone world is offering assistance, either trilaterally or bilaterally, in purely private or in public-private ventures.
Mozambique's Minister of Energy, Salvador Namburete, has frequently pointed out that the country vast potential to cultivate first generation biofuels based on oilseed, sugar and starch crops in an initial phase, whereas when technologies mature, it can become a major producer of biomass.
Besides investors from Brazil, several initiatives from Europe, India and China have been launched in the country's biofuels sector (earlier post and here). Amongst them is a typical South-North-South exchange which sees Italy and Brazil cooperating on biofuels in Mozambique.
References:
Petrobras: Petrobras reaffirms its partnership in Mozambique - August 8, 2007.
Biopact: Mozambique-India partnership: biofuels for poverty alleviation - July 03, 2007
Biopact: Lusophone world and China join forces to produce biofuels in Mozambique - May 19, 2007
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Saturday, August 11, 2007
Germany considers opening natural gas network to biogas - major boost to sector
According to the ministry, by 2030, locally produced natural gas from biomass would supply up to 10 percent of Germany's total gas consumption and reduce, without extra costs, around 22 million tons of carbon dioxide. This comes down to around 2.5 per cent of Germany's projected greenhouse gas emissions for that year.
The ministry will instruct natural gas network operators "to give biogas producers priority access to the network as well as to feed in biogas", even though a target has not been disclosed. If needed, compensations for the effort will be paid at actual market prices.
Such a policy would differ from Germany's current Renewable Energy Law ('Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz' - EEG), which applies to electricity generated from renewables such as biomass, solar, hydro and wind power. Under this current system, producers of green electricity receive a fixed price which is set each year and which often is well above prevailing market prices. It is basically a subsidy. Last year, this subsidy ran up to a net sum of €3,2 billion. The costs are carried by the consumer. From an environmental perspective, the EEG can be called successful because it has brought the share of renewable electricity in Germany to 13 per cent - one of the highest shares in the industrialized world:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biogas :: natural gas :: Germany ::
Currently, biogas is Germany's fastest growing renewables sector, and energy from biomass has taken the second largest overall share of the renewables mix (22%, against 4% for solar; wind remains by far the largest player). According to a recently released Eurobarometer for biogas, the country is Europe's largest producer, generating approximately 40% of all biogas produced in the Union in 2006 (more here).
Biogas is currently being fed into the natural gas mains in Germany only on a trial basis. But feasibility studies show that the technical barriers to couple purified biogas to natural gas networks can be overcome. A European Union funded project has made this clear (previous post).
The total energy potential for biogas has been the subject of several projections and scenarios, with the most optimal setting it at a total replacement of all European natural gas imports from Russia by 2020 (more here).
The Federal Ministry's proposal is welcomed by the German biogas sector which sees it as a major boost.
References:
Markenpost: Glos will Einspeisung von Biogas ins Erdgasnetz - August 10, 2007.
Biopact: Study: Biogas can replace all EU imports of Russian gas by 2020 - February 10, 2007
Biopact: Study: EU biogas production grew 13.6% in 2006, holds large potential - July 24, 2007
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posted by Biopact team at 3:34 PM 1 comments links to this post