Notícias
11/28/2007
Comanche invests in ethanol and biodiesel
Mônica Scaramuzzo
Comanche Clean Energy, a company run by American investors headquartered in New York, plans to invest US$ 300 million in construction of an ethanol plant and a biodiesel plant in the state of Maranhão. The investments should be made in the Balsas region, a traditional grain-producing area in the state.
The company came to Brazil at the end of 2006. The first investments, totaling US$ 150 million, were made at the beginning of this year, in the acquisition of two small alcohol plants in São Paulo state and one biodiesel plant in Bahia state, which is already in operations, says group board member Delmo Vilhena. The company is headed by executive Thomas Cauchois, who was at the helm of FondElec, an American investment and consulting company for energy and telecommunications projects on the international market.
The choice of the group of Maranhão is a reflection of the state’s logistical advantages, because of the Itaqui port, and the low production costs as compared with the country’s center-south region. “Maranhão is a state of opportunities,” says Vilhena. The group's two plants in the state are expected to start operations in the 2010/11 season.
Comanche will build a plant with a capacity of approximately 4 million tons of sugarcane per harvest, with production of 300 million liters per harvest during its final stage. The biodiesel plant was designed for around 100 million liters per year. The Comanche alcohol plants installed in São Paulo will also receive funding. Comanche’s Santa Anita unit, in Tatuí, should process around 700 thousand tons in 2008/09, but it is being improved to double production in 2009/10. Comanche’s Canitar plant, in the Ourinhos region, currently processes 300 thousand tons, but it should also mill 1.5 million tons in the coming years, according to Vilhena.
According to Weber Amaral, Chief Superintendent of the National Biofuels Industrial Center (Pólo Nacional de Biocombustíveis), headquartered in Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo, the state of Maranhão is well-equipped for growing sugarcane. “The state is equipped to have an area of 1.5 million hectares of sugarcane, with potential for occupying from 4 million to 5 million hectares in the long term."
Amaral also noted that the production rates in some regions, including Balsas, are also similar to the country's center-south region. “The production costs are compatible with the center-south region, since the land and the labor costs are lower," he said. The port of Itaqui has a tradition of shipping grains. “For alcohol, investments in tanker infrastructure and in a liquid bed are needed," the executive stated.
Comanche Clean Energy, a company run by American investors headquartered in New York, plans to invest US$ 300 million in construction of an ethanol plant and a biodiesel plant in the state of Maranhão. The investments should be made in the Balsas region, a traditional grain-producing area in the state.
The company came to Brazil at the end of 2006. The first investments, totaling US$ 150 million, were made at the beginning of this year, in the acquisition of two small alcohol plants in São Paulo state and one biodiesel plant in Bahia state, which is already in operations, says group board member Delmo Vilhena. The company is headed by executive Thomas Cauchois, who was at the helm of FondElec, an American investment and consulting company for energy and telecommunications projects on the international market.
The choice of the group of Maranhão is a reflection of the state’s logistical advantages, because of the Itaqui port, and the low production costs as compared with the country’s center-south region. “Maranhão is a state of opportunities,” says Vilhena. The group's two plants in the state are expected to start operations in the 2010/11 season.
Comanche will build a plant with a capacity of approximately 4 million tons of sugarcane per harvest, with production of 300 million liters per harvest during its final stage. The biodiesel plant was designed for around 100 million liters per year. The Comanche alcohol plants installed in São Paulo will also receive funding. Comanche’s Santa Anita unit, in Tatuí, should process around 700 thousand tons in 2008/09, but it is being improved to double production in 2009/10. Comanche’s Canitar plant, in the Ourinhos region, currently processes 300 thousand tons, but it should also mill 1.5 million tons in the coming years, according to Vilhena.
According to Weber Amaral, Chief Superintendent of the National Biofuels Industrial Center (Pólo Nacional de Biocombustíveis), headquartered in Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo, the state of Maranhão is well-equipped for growing sugarcane. “The state is equipped to have an area of 1.5 million hectares of sugarcane, with potential for occupying from 4 million to 5 million hectares in the long term."
Amaral also noted that the production rates in some regions, including Balsas, are also similar to the country's center-south region. “The production costs are compatible with the center-south region, since the land and the labor costs are lower," he said. The port of Itaqui has a tradition of shipping grains. “For alcohol, investments in tanker infrastructure and in a liquid bed are needed," the executive stated.
