Indian Oil becomes fifth oil major, first NOC, to join algal fuels race; signs with PetroAlgae

In India, Indian Oil Company became the fifth oil major and first national oil company (NOC) to decisively enter the algal fuel race, signing a MOU to enter into an agreement with PetroAlgae to license micro-crop technology for the large-scale production of renewable fuels.

The announcement is also the first between an oil major and an algal fuel developer expressly aimed along a commercialization path. Previous tie-ups have featured early-stage investment and R&D partnership.

In a statement, Indian Oil Company said that the two companies will initially partner on adapting the algal strains and technology developed by PetroAlgae to suit Indian conditions. Thereafter, a pilot facility is proposed to demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology, with a 60 Mgy commercial production facility proposed for the the near future, along with a high-value protein that can be used as feedstock for animal feed production.

Indian Oil said that it has been exploring commercial ventures in all form of alternate energy including, solar, wind and biofuels. Significant progress has been made by the Corporation in energy crop plantation. The company expects to complete plantation of 100,000 acres of jatropha plantation, primarily in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (Indian Oil) is currently India’s largest company by sales with a sales of $60 billion. Indian Oil is ranked #116 in the Fortune ‘Global 500′, and is the 18th largest petroleum company in the world.

Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, has announced extensive investments in ethanol and cellulosic ethanol development, but to date the tie-ups between algal fuel developers and  oil companies had involved only private enterprise.

Florida Governor (and 2010 Senate candidate) Charlie Crist visited the PetroAlgae facility in Fellsmere, FL yesterday. On the left is PetroAlgae CEO Ottmar Dippold, at right is Crist.

The line-up of announced tie-ins is now:

ExxonMobil – Synthetic Genomics
Shell – Cellana
BP – Martek
Chevron – Solazyme
Indian Oil – PetroAlgae

Valero, Marathon Oil, Petrobras, Total, BP, Shell, and Chevron are extensively invested in other forms of advanced biofuels development, including drop-in renewable fuels as well as cellulosic ethanol. Sunoco, Valero and other companies are also invested in first generation fuels.

Dow is among other companies outside of the oil and gas sector now investing in algae, through its partnership with Algenol. Companies such as Proctor & Gamble are also exploring renewable chemicals, in P&Gs case through a partnership with LS9.

More about PetroAlgae in “Biggie Smalls: Microcrops go mainstream“.
More about oil companies entering the biofuels sphere, in “Big Oil on Biofuels Prowl?“.
More about the investors in biofuels, in “Who’s Your Daddy?”

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