Washington (Platts)--4Mar2008

Latin America could produce up to six times the current output of ethanol
by 2017, according to a study from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge
National Laboratory announced Tuesday.

Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and some of the Caribbean Basin Initiative
countries together could produce enough raw material to produce up to 30
billion gallons of ethanol annually by 2017, the study, "Biofuel Feedstock
Assessment for Selected Countries," found.

About 40% of that would be cellulosic ethanol produced from waster
material, largely from sugarcane and bagasse remains from sugar production.

"Current feedstock production, based on traditional crops such as
sugarcane, soybeans and palm oil, has the potential to double or triple by
2017 in some cases," according to Gbadebo Oladosu, the study's chief
economist. "Supply growth is derived from increasing the area cultivated,
supplemented by improving yields and farming practices."

The announcement comes as US demand for ethanol is set to dramatically
increase. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, passed at the end
of last year, calls for 36 billion gallons of biofuels to be used annually by
2022, but some lawmakers have expressed concern that US production cannot keep
up with that demand.

--Derek Sands, derek_sands@platts.com