NIGERIA – The Federal Government of Nigeria has partnered with DOR Group, Israel’s leading manufacturer and marketer of methanol and MTBE products in the production of ethanol in the country.

The two parties recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the partnership which may result in Nigeria significantly enhancing its ethanol capacity in the near future.

Nigeria’s delegation during the signing ceremony was led by Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, while DOR Group was represented by its Chief Operating Officer Vincent Asor.

 The event was witnessed by the Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the State of Israel, Yotam Kreiman, alongside the mission’s Senior Economic Officer, Florence Osuji.

According to a press statement from the Government, the methanol technology from the DOR Group would expand the chemical industry value-chain, replace kerosene as household cooking fuel and contribute to efficient and effective transportation.

The DOR Group has over 60 years’ experience in the production and marketing methanol and MTBE products

In recent years, DOR has been part of a number of experiments being conducted in Israel to use Methanol as fuel or fuel component.

To this end, Dor partnered with the infamous Fiat Chrysler Group to launch the Fiat 500-M15, a vehicle powered by M15 fuel (a mixture of 15% Methanol with Gasoline) and adjusted for Euro 6 regulations.

DOR Group noted that the fuel is expected to be sold at attractive prices to consumers at various gas stations throughout the country in the near future.

Last month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) partnered with the Government of Kebbi State in cultivating starchy crops on thousands of hectares of land for the production of ethanol.

Africa Inc had then reported that as a result of the partnership, 2,675 hectares of arable land in Kebbi State had already been put under Cassava (one of the main crops to be used in ethanol production) cultivation.

Ethanol is a biofuel made by fermenting the sugars from plants such as corn or sugarcane used in the United States and Brazil as a biofuel.

Ethanol contains oxygen that helps a car’s engine burn fuel more efficiently, reducing air pollution.

Its use has rose to prominence in the recent past amid rising concerns of the effect of using fossil fuels on the environment.

In the U.S., where most ethanol is derived from corn, fuel is typically 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol.

In Brazil—the second-largest ethanol producer behind the U.S.—fuel contains up to 27 percent ethanol, with sugarcane as the main feedstock.

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