Petrobras recently said it wants to start taking stakes in ethanol production, and become a major player in ethanol trading. The Brazilian company and Japan’s Mitsui (MITSY) have set up a joint venture for investments in Brazilian ethanol destined for export to Japan.
In a separate development, Petrobras, Mitsui, and Brazilian contractor Camargo Correa have formed a joint venture to build the world’s first ethanol-only pipeline, which will be able to transport up to 12m cum/yr of ethanol, and will run from sugar cane-growing areas in western Brazil to the Atlantic coast in Sao Paulo state.