By Alena Mae S. Flores

Petron Corp. will start selling gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol in all its nearly 200 stations in Metro Manila next month, simultaneous with the start of commercial operations of its supplier, San Carlos Bioenergy Corp.

Jose Campos, Petron vice president for sales and marketing, said San Carlos Bioenergy would supply 100 percent of the refiner?s ethanol requirement in time for the implementation of the Biofuels Act.

San Carlos Bioenergy started commercial ethanol production last week and signed an agreement to supply Petron?s ethanol requirement.

?Next month, we will have to broaden the sale of gasoline with ethanol in line with the program. So by mid-February, you can expect in Metro Manila all our stations will be selling E10,? he said. He added all Petron stations nationwide would be ready to sell the ethanol blend by 2011.

Petron is also buying part of its ethanol requirements from Leyte Agri Corp.

?I cannot say exactly when the deliveries from SCBI will come in, but it will be here early enough to enable us to meet our requirements by February,? Campos said.

?Well, eventually we might have to import but right now all our requirements can be met by SCBI. So we?re happy we have this partnership with SCBI,? he added.

Petron launched its E10 Premium product in June in selected service stations in Metro Manila. Petron E10 Premium contains 10 percent fuel grade ethanol and 90 percent premium unleaded gasoline with enhanced fuel additive.

The additive removes deposits, resulting in improved power and fuel economy.

San Carlos BioEnergy Inc. earlier said it was ready to start commercial operations of its P2.5-billion integrated ethanol distillery and co-generation power plant this month.

Energy Department director Mario Marasigan said San Carlos BioEnergy started testing and commissioning the plant in December and expected commercial operations to begin in February.

The plant, located at the San Carlos Agro-Industrial Economic Zone in Negros Occidental, was designed to meet local and international environmental and technical standards.

The plant has a fuel ethanol distillery capable of producing 125,000 liters of ethanol per day, or 30 million liters annually, and a co-generation plant with a power capacity of 8 megawatts.

The plant needs approximately 400,000 tons of cane annually?all coming from the 9,000-hectare San Carlos sugar district.

Bio-ethanol is alcohol produced from sugarcane and other crops such as corn, cassava and sweet sorghum. It is part of the government?s alternative fuel program that aims to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.