Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil, plans to more than triple its production of palm oil methyl ester (PME) to 350,000 tonnes a year by 2016 from 100,000 tonnes a year currently.

Its group president and chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah said the group is also targeting its fleet to fully use biodiesel fuel by 2016.

He said FGV will use the B30 biodiesel blend, comprising 30% PME and 70% diesel, on its fleet operations in stages beginning next year after successfully testing it on one of its transport tankers. About 450 transport tankers are targeted to use the B30 blend.

Mohd Emir said in addition to potential savings generated by the reduced consumption of diesel, the B30 blend can also reduce the group’s dependence on fossil fuel, strengthening its sustainable logistical operations.

“We are going beyond what the government wants to do with B7 biodiesel [comprising 7% PME and 93% diesel] programme,” he told a media briefing on the group’s plans yesterday.

“The reason why we are doing this is because we believe in lowering our carbon footprint and with biodiesel alone, reducing our consumption of diesel,” he added.

FGV palm downstream cluster processing head Wira Adam said with petroleum slipping to a five-year low below US$66 (RM230) per barrel, the spread or difference in price between biodiesel and mineral diesel is 4 sen per litre.

Wira said the group can still gain from the B30 plan by reducing production costs with the commencement of operation at its new plant in Kuantan within the next few years. The new plant, located next to its existing facility, will have a production capacity of 250,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year.

He said lower production costs could be achieved by upgrading its technology and using second-generation feedstock which costs less.

 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 10, 2014.

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