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Petrobras and São Martinho Partner in Brazilian Ethanol Sector, Form New JV

Petrobras, through its Petrobras Biocombustível subsidiary, has formed a strategic partnership with Grupo São Martinho S.A., one of the largest sugar and energy groups in Brazil, to increase ethanol production in Midwestern Brazil, in the State of Goiás. The partners will form a new joint venture company—Nova Fronteira Bioenergia S.A.—which will control the Boa Vista Mill, currently in operation, and the greenfield project SMBJ Agroindustrial S.A., both in Goiás.

With a R$420.8 million (US$238 million) investment, Petrobras Biocombustível will hold a 49% equity stake in the new company. The funds will be used to increase the new company’s production, especially that of the Boa Vista Mill. With current and planned investments, the plant will have its milling capacity expanded from the current 2.5 million tons of sugarcane to 7 million tons in the 2014/15 season.

The disbursement will take place in two stages: the first, for R$257.6 million, after the completion of the due diligence, which is scheduled to occur within 90 days, and the remaining portion up to 12 months later.

According to the CEO of Petrobras Biocombustível, Miguel Rossetto, this partnership represents a strategic alliance aimed to consolidate the company as an important producer of ethanol.

Through Petrobras Biocombustível, Petrobras holds stakes in companies operating out of the sugar and energy industry with a current crushing capacity above 20 million tons of sugarcane per year. Petrobras foresees investments in the order of $2.4 billion in the 2009-2013 period to expand ethanol and biodiesel production, particularly in Brazil, in order to respond to the growth in the domestic and global demand for biofuels.

Grupo São Martinho has crushing capacity for 14 million tons of sugarcane. It has three plants in operation: São Martinho, in Pradópolis (in the region of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo); Iracema, in Iracemápolis (in the region of Limeira, also in the state of São Paulo), in addition to in Boa Vista (Quirinópolis, 300 km away from Goiânia, state of Goiás), and a ribonucleic acid production unit, called Omtek, also in Iracemápolis. The average harvest mechanization rate is 82%, and 100% at the Boa Vista Mill.

Comments

ejj

They need to finish chopping down the rainforests to grow sugar cane. The rainforests are good for nothing and most of them are chopped down already anyway...just get rid of them.

CelsoS

Mr. "ejj",

Please go check your assumption, and stop spreading those stupid and malevolent lies.

I'll give you a pair of links where you can read a bit about sugar cane and ethanol in Brazil, and even though it's written by a SIG of the sugar cane industry, those are accepted facts by most of our society.

We have lots of problems, poverty, endemic corruption, but no "chopped down rain forest in the amazon to produce biofuels".

Please use a map, or may be Google Maps, and see where is the amazon basin and where is São Paulo and Goias.

You can see item "12 Is sugarcane expansion a threat to the Amazon Rain Forest?" at page 28 from this publication from UNICA (the NGO/SIG - The Sugar Cane Industry Association): "Sugar Cane Industry in Brazil: Ethanol Sugar Bioelectricity"

http://english.unica.com.br/download.asp?mmdCode=7FB6A6F9-244A-4FCF-8879-C470BB4F9CCC

Debunking other myths :
http://www.unica.com.br/downloads/folhet_MITHYS&FACTS.pdf

Let's have an exchange of ideas based on truth and respect.

BTW, I have no direct relation to anyone or anything in that industry other than being a Brazilian citizen.

I do have interest in technology, alternative energy and fuels our society depends on, and I'm convinced that, even though biofuels are no panacea, they are extremely important both economically and environmentally.


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