Petrobras acquires 50% stake in Bioleo

Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras said it has acquired a 50% stake in local biodiesel company Bioleo Industrial e Comercial for 15.5 million reais (US$8.81 million). Bioleo, located in Feira de Santana in the northeastern state of Bahia, has the capacity to process 130,000 metric tons of oil seeds and to store 30,000 metric tons of grains. It also has tankage capacity to store 10 million liters of vegetable oils. The new buyout highlights Petrobras’ efforts to increase its market share of the South American country’s biofuels market. (August 31, 2010)