Nigeria to make ethanol use mandatory, cooperation with Brazil
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that his administration would make the use of ethanol in fuel compulsory. Speaking when the Director of the Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, Mr Roberto Gianneti da Fonseca, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja, Obasanjo likened the situation to the compulsory use of cassava flour in wheat for bread.
“Like we did for the introduction of cassava flour into bread, we shall gradually introduce ethanol into fuel soon. This is a serious project for us. NNPC [Nigeria's national petroleum company] is spearheading the project for now; but it will essentially be private sector driven”, the president said.
He said that six states were ready to commence the project in their respective domains, including Jigawa, Bauchi, Benue and Ondo. “Nigeria has the capacity to produce ethanol from both cassava and sugarcane; so we will take advantage of these natural endowments to provide jobs and cheaper fuel,” he added.
Earlier, Fonseca had said his organisation was already talking with NNPC and some private Nigerian companies as part of the effort to introduce ethanol to the Nigerian market. Nigeria welcomes Brazilian technology, expertise and sugar cane varieties.
The announcement came after the NNPC and the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Abuja signed a consultancy service agreement in the area of research for high yielding cassava and sugarcane in the country, to take the national ethanol programme forward.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engineer Funso Kupolokun, also disclosed that a limited ethanol importation programme is being planned to seed the market. To him, this will not only help to form up the market, it will also provide the necessary experience in distribution and handling of infrastructure for the distribution of ethanol fuel in collaboration with petroleum marketers:
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sustainability :: cassava :: sugarcane :: Brazil :: Nigeria ::
The objective of the ethanol fuel programme he said was to explore sources of biomass that can be used to produce fuel ethanol to improve automotive exhaust omissions in the country and reduce use of petrol, free up more crude for export and position Nigeria for development of green fuel.
On the research agreement with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, he stressed that for the implementation of the programme to be successful, the services of experts from the university will be required from time to time.
He, however, believed that the consultancy agreement will enable the corporation to establish the framework and set out the principles with Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, which will provide technical assistance to NNPC on the Automobile Bio-Mass Ethanol programme.
According to him “the success of the bio-fuel programme is anchored on local availability of high quality feedstock in sufficient quantity from both out-growers and integrated plantations to feed the ethanol plants on a sustainable basis.”
Towards this, a detailed feasibility studies for locations in Gombe and Benue States and a preliminary seedling strategy has been developed to provide sufficient and improved varietal material for 20,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations in the two cities.
“Like we did for the introduction of cassava flour into bread, we shall gradually introduce ethanol into fuel soon. This is a serious project for us. NNPC [Nigeria's national petroleum company] is spearheading the project for now; but it will essentially be private sector driven”, the president said.
He said that six states were ready to commence the project in their respective domains, including Jigawa, Bauchi, Benue and Ondo. “Nigeria has the capacity to produce ethanol from both cassava and sugarcane; so we will take advantage of these natural endowments to provide jobs and cheaper fuel,” he added.
Earlier, Fonseca had said his organisation was already talking with NNPC and some private Nigerian companies as part of the effort to introduce ethanol to the Nigerian market. Nigeria welcomes Brazilian technology, expertise and sugar cane varieties.
The announcement came after the NNPC and the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Abuja signed a consultancy service agreement in the area of research for high yielding cassava and sugarcane in the country, to take the national ethanol programme forward.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engineer Funso Kupolokun, also disclosed that a limited ethanol importation programme is being planned to seed the market. To him, this will not only help to form up the market, it will also provide the necessary experience in distribution and handling of infrastructure for the distribution of ethanol fuel in collaboration with petroleum marketers:
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sustainability :: cassava :: sugarcane :: Brazil :: Nigeria ::
The objective of the ethanol fuel programme he said was to explore sources of biomass that can be used to produce fuel ethanol to improve automotive exhaust omissions in the country and reduce use of petrol, free up more crude for export and position Nigeria for development of green fuel.
On the research agreement with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, he stressed that for the implementation of the programme to be successful, the services of experts from the university will be required from time to time.
He, however, believed that the consultancy agreement will enable the corporation to establish the framework and set out the principles with Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, which will provide technical assistance to NNPC on the Automobile Bio-Mass Ethanol programme.
According to him “the success of the bio-fuel programme is anchored on local availability of high quality feedstock in sufficient quantity from both out-growers and integrated plantations to feed the ethanol plants on a sustainable basis.”
Towards this, a detailed feasibility studies for locations in Gombe and Benue States and a preliminary seedling strategy has been developed to provide sufficient and improved varietal material for 20,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations in the two cities.
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