British Petroleum is in talks with Chinese ethanol producer Guangxi Xintiande Energy Co. Ltd. over a possible tie-up, a source from the Chinese company said, Reuters reported.
BP, the world's third-largest Western oil company by market value, was one of many foreign investors interested in Xintiande, which has the capacity to produce up to 100,000 tonnes of food-grade ethanol from tapioca per year, the source said.
Xintiande planned to list overseas once it sealed a deal with foreign investors, the source said, adding the company also planned to build a container terminal.
A local government official said senior executives from BP were in the region to meet administration officials regarding possible cooperation in the ethanol industry in Guangxi.
Food-grade ethanol can be processed further for use as a biofuel.
Xintiande, based in Qinzhou in the southern region of Guangxi, invested 1.2 billion yuan ($154.5 million) last year to build a private port with four terminals for oil, coal, natural gas and other dry bulk cargoes like tapioca chips.
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Possible Tie-Up Between PB and Chinese Ethanol Producer
British Petroleum is in talks with Chinese ethanol producer over a possible tie-up