Palm bio-diesel production

Palm bio-diesel production

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Palm oil producing companies PT Musim
Mas and PP Lonsum have agreed to develop technology which will
aid in the production of "palm bio-diesel" in North Sumatra with
the aim of establishing Indonesia as a major alternative fuel
producer.

The agreement was reached at the end of an international
workshop on bio-diesel in Medan, North Sumatra, from Oct. 2 to
Oct. 4, Derom Bangun, head of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers'
Association, said in Medan on Friday.

Bangun said that to build a plant with the capacity to process
100 tons of crude palm oil (CPO) into usable fuel requires an
investment of about US$20 million.

"Both PT Musim Mas and PP Lonsum will provide the investment
money on a 50-50 basis," he said.

He explained that total palm oil plantation areas in Indonesia
had already reached 3.5 million hectares in 2000 and could be
expanded to cover 10 million hectares.

Indonesia's CPO production reached 7.2 million tons per year
in 2000, of which 4.1 million was exported. --JP