Jatoil growing more jatropha in Asia

By Hwee Hwee Tan
Filed from Singapore
5/23/2008 1:39:26 PM GMT

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Australia-listed Jatoil Ltd. is banking on jatropha to deliver on its promise as a next generation biofuel feedstock. Jatropha can be grown on arid lands and will not compromise food production, according to Jatoil's Chairman, Dr. Michael R. Taverner. The company is working with business partners to acquire jatropha plantations in Southeast Asia.

In early May, Jatoil and partner, GreenEnergy Biofuels (GEB) established a joint venture, the GreenEnergy Joint Stock Co. to cultivate jatropha in Vietnam. GEB has been actively researching and experimenting with five to six jatropha varieties sourced mainly from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam over the last four years, according to sources close to the development.

The first phase of the project will see the cultivation of jatropha on four test plots covering 100 hectares (247 acres) of leased land in Vietnam. The joint venture is preparing to plant jatropha in Ninh Thuan, northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, over a four-month period prior to the wet season. The partners will also establish further 25-hectare (62-acre) test plots in the central and southern provinces of Binh Tuan and Hao Binh.

The test plots will allow the partners to facilitate the transition of local farmlands into jatropha plantations during the second phase of expansion. The joint venture intends to acquire 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of jatropha plantations through contracts with commercial planters and independent producers.

Meanwhile, Jatoil is also seeking to start up jatropha plantations in Indonesia. Jatoil and its local partner PT Biodiesel Austindo are sourcing for suitable planting sites in Indonesia. The partners have started planting jatropha in about 100hectares (247 acres) of land in the country.