BP Biofuels and Copersucar have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) to own and operate a major ethanol storage terminal in Brazil, enhancing flexibly and connecting ethanol production with the country’s main fuels markets.
Copersucar is the world’s leading sugar and ethanol trader, with the largest sugar and ethanol storage capacity in Brazil. BP Biofuels, part of BP’s Alternative Energy business, is a significant producer of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil.
The 50/50 JV will own and operate the Terminal Copersucar de Etanol in Paulínia, São Paulo, which is currently solely owned by Copersucar. Joint ownership of the terminal will support the strategies of both companies – connecting important ethanol production with flexible storage capacity close to the main ethanol consumer markets in Brazil.
In addition to the shareholders’ business, the terminal will continue providing services to its current customers.
In operation since September 2014, the Paulínia terminal has 10 tanks with a total storage capacity of 180 million l of ethanol. It moves around 2.3 billion l/yr, with the possibility of further expansion. The terminal is located in one of Brazil’s main fuels hubs and operates in a multimodal way, connected to important transport networks, pipelines, and will soon be connected to the railway.
Dev Sanyal, BP’s CEO of Alternative Energy, said: “BP is committed to the dual mission of delivering the energy that the world needs while advancing the low carbon world that we all want. We believe that biofuels offers one of the best large-scale solutions for decarbonising the transport sector and demand will continue to grow for decades to come. Brazil is one of the largest markets globally for ethanol as a fuel and this collaboration with Copersucar enables us to extend and expand our existing value chain to meet its growing demand.”
Paulo Roberto de Souza, President of Copersucar said: “The new JV will optimise ethanol logistics, with competitiveness gains and more flexibility in the way we serve the market. In addition to the values we share, the partnership with BP reinforces our commitment to the development of biofuels in Brazil.”
Mario Lindenhayn, President of BP Biofuels and Head of Country for Brazil, said: “This important partnership with Copersucar will enable BP Biofuels to significantly expand our commercial presence in Brazil. In addition to the strategic benefits of its geographic location and the flexible multimodal access to the terminal, these first-class assets also operate with the highest safety standards.”
The transaction and formation of the joint venture will be subject to the necessary approvals of relevant supervisory bodies. Commercial details of this transaction are not being released.