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WITH the
Biofuels Act of 2006 nearing implementation early next
month, Petron Corp., a local refiner, raised concerns
that importing the feedstock for the ethanol program
will defeat the purpose of the law.
“Our
priority for ethanol is to really secure ethanol
domestically, and it’s not that we don’t believe in it,”
Petron president Khalid D. Al-Faddagh told reporters at
the sidelines of the launch of its new XCS Complete
Combustion System.
Whether
or not the ethanol program will be enforced next month
remains hanging as the Implementing Rules and
Regulations of the Biofuels Act of 2006 is still being
finalized and has yet to be disseminated.
Oil
companies earlier suggested deferring implementation by
two years upon effectivity of the act, with the ethanol
feedstock supply chain still unavailable locally and
still being set up.
“We have
two years, and hopefully, when that applies our
expectation is that there will be a steady supply of
ethanol or an industry that can support the introduction
of ethanol that will also come from the domestic market
by then,” said al-Faddagh.
“What
the industry wants to see is something similar to the
coco-methyl ester (CME) industry. With CME, it’s
actually viable now because it has a supply chain that
can cover the whole Philippines,” he added.
Al-Faddagh
asked aloud if it will make sense to import ethanol just
to introduce it. He said he was not saying such just to
make it appear that Petron is not capable of importing.
“It really just does not make sense to introduce it at
this time when the supply is not available
domestically,” he stressed.
The main
point of the Biofuels Act is to create an industry that
will be self-sufficient, he said. In the case of CME,
al-Faddagh said consumers can be rest assured that
Petron will not introduce a product without really
having tested and validated it, and knowing exactly what
kind of additives are needed to be added to it.
For CME
it’s like a chain of things, al-Faddagh said there are
additives needed to be added that will neutralize the
effects of certain components.
On
Wednesday, Petron launched its new XCS Complete
Combustion System, its first gasoline powered by premium
organic combustion enhancers that give engines a cleaner
burn and optimized power.
Al-Faddagh
said the new Petron XCS is designed for the 21st century
and the organic additive used in the new XCS is a
proprietary formulation developed exclusively for Petron.
“We
believe that the new XCS will once again set a benchmark
for local gasoline products,” he added.
On the
other hand, Petron vice president for marketing Jose K.
Campos said the new Petron XCS is designed to cater to
all new types of vehicles.
--P.A.Isla |
