Surge in biofuels OPEC headache

Increased use of biofuels and other measures that steer consumers away from oil could prompt OPEC to rethink its investment plans, an official from the crude producer group said yesterday.

The European Union and nations around the world are looking at biofuels, made from plant and animal matter, to boost energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and open new markets for farmers.

“We have great concerns about this … about policies which discriminate against oil,” Fuad Siala, alternative energy sources analyst at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said at a Hart energy conference in Brussels. “We have legitimate concerns to revisit our investment plans.”

TheStar