British multinational oil and gas company bp has acquired a 15% stake in Chinese renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Lianyungang Jiaao Enproenergy Co for US$49.56M (CNY 354M), Reuters reported.
The Chinese company is building a 500,000 tonnes/year SAF plant in the eastern coastal city of Lianyungang, a company executive told Reuters.
One of China’s leading biodiesel producers, Jiaao announced the investment agreement with bp on its WeChat account on 22 August.
Jiaao was one of the first Chinese investors to spend more than a billion dollars turning waste cooking oil into SAF for export and to meet domestic demand, the 23 August report said.
With an approximate 11% share of global jet fuel use, China is the world’s second-largest aviation fuel market, according to the report.
Although Beijing has called for the use of SAF to be promoted, it has not introduced domestic mandates or subsidies and most of China’s small biofuel production capacity was exported, Reuters wrote.
