Trinidad Bulk Traders launches into ethanol production

Ethanol, or fuel alcohol as it is more popularly known, is taking off as a commodity and it's now being produced in Trinidad.
There's unprecedented demand for it worldwide, as governments are looking for additional energy supplies. And its even more attractive now, since the US Government is continuing its programme to phase out the gasoline component MTBE and European states are also seeking after it.

According to Curtis Mohammed, Trinidad's entry into this foray could not come at a more opportune time. Mohammed is the general manager of ethanol production company, Trinidad Bulk Traders Limited (TBTL), a subsidiary of CL Financial.
The new TBTL plant can produce between 50 to 100 mm gallons of ethanol per annum, which is comparatively close behind in scale, to some of the other leading global plants. TBTL was launched in August 2005, two years after CL Financial chairman, Lawrence Duprey and his team delved into its feasibility study.

Mohammed, a chemical engineer (attained both his BSc and Masters' degrees from the University of the West Indies), has been part of the Angostura Group since 1998, after he left Petrotrin that same year.
He told: "The feasibility looked promising. We entered discussions with Petrotrin and after a short prequalification stage with them we got closer to the deal. We had an unfortunate period with the EMA (Environmental Management Authority). At the end of the day we were wrong, we paid our fine and we've moved on and are better from the experience.”

"As a matter of fact, we invited them to come on the plant three weeks ago to look at what we had done to review it and to tell us if there were any gaps and I believe they were satisfied. They told us there were a couple areas we could improve on and we've been working on those.”
"In the end all the improvements will ensure that we maintain compliance and function above what is expected."

TBTL is not currently in the business of manufacturing from raw cane to ethanol, but sources raw alcohol from Brazil. The company is also holding talks with Guyana and Barbados.
Mohammed did not rule out the possibility of TBTL some day owning its own sugar manufacturing and fermentation plant, but explained that in the current scheme of things, it would require interfering with Caricom Governments sugar quotas, space (large acreages) for fermentation tanks of the magnitude that would ensure its ethanol production numbers are not affected, amongst other factors.

"We're on our second product load, which we'll be sending out and that is working very well, as we're now regularising the business. We bought some contract volumes to start it off and now we want some longer term suppliers."
Asked what he expects of its profit margins, he said: "We expect that the profit margins will be the order of our producing company, Trinidad Distillers -- it will not be the order of our methanol or ammonia plants. If our ethanol plant goes off and on it wouldn't change the world price of ethanol, but if our methanol and ammonia plants go down, world prices would change -- since those plants are mammoth plants in the whole scheme of things.”
"Oil and gas are depleting resources, but barring hurricane, all you need is rain and sun and you're guaranteed high sugar production for ethanol," he said, while painting a picture of how lucrative ethanol as a business could be.

However, Mohammed cited as a concern, legislation governing the industry which is limiting ethanol's functional growth in our very own local market.
"Our business does not really fall under some of the regular routes for approvals, so we needed an amalgam. We do not fall under the Petroleum Ordinance Act, so I think if ethanol is becoming a commodity in Trinidad and Tobago there must be some regulatory adjustment.”
"Right now we cannot take alcohol and use it in a car in Trinidad and Tobago because the Customs and Excise Act will have to change, the Ministry of Energy will have to have certain provisions for it. So if I wanted to use it in my car,it's good economic sense, but we have no laws to allow it."

He suggested that if the Government instituted an ethanol programme and replaced 10 % of our gasoline consumption with ethanol, it (ethanol) being cheaper, in addition to not having to pay any duties, would augur well for the country's balance of payments.
The 10 % gasoline supply he explained, could then be sold on the world market and perhaps garner an even better price.