were adopted at the 3rd RSPOroundtable meeting held in Nov 2005.They encompass all facets ofsustainability ensuring that productionis economically viable, legal,environmentally appropriate andsocially beneficial (full details areavailable from website:http://www.rspo.org). About 10 oilplantation companies are currentlymid-way through a two-year testingperiod for the implementation of theprinciples and criteria (P&C);preliminary results will be presentedat the forthcoming 4th roundtablemeeting in late November this year.The meeting will also review progresson interpretation of the P&Cs invarious producer countries accordingto their laws and standards, as wellas efforts to tackle the applicability ofP&Cs for smallholders, who accountfor anywhere between 10% and 90%of palm oil production in differentcountries. RSPO is also currentlylooking at models for verification ofsustainable palm oil as well asmechanisms for tracing the productfrom plantation to end user.

It is an ironic fact, however, thatthe November RSPO meeting inSingapore is likely to take place underthe regional dry season’s annual pallof haze from forest and land fires inneighbouring Indonesia – haze that isat times thick enough to reducevisibility to 50 m, causing significantpollution problems and even forcingairports to cancel flights. And thechief cause of the fires? The illegalburning of forest on central Borneo’speaty soils, which is widely blamed onfarmers and logging companiesclearing land for oil palm plantations.So, while RSPO members talk, theforest burns... a practice totallyopposed by RSPO’s P&C. ‘Slash andburn’ is also officially banned byIndonesia’s government but in theremote central areas it seempowerless (or unwilling) to enforcethis.

RSPO’s remit at this stage of itslife is to promote best practices inpalm oil production rather than toenforce them. So we must hope itsexample can inspire governments tofulfil their obligations. If not, we facethe bleak future scenario where vastswathes of our planet’s mostbiodiverse habitats are irreversiblyreplaced, with consequent loss ofindigenous cultures and the

consignment of a few selectrepresentatives of this rich flora andfauna to botanical gardens and zoos.However, if RSPO is allowed toachieve its objectives, we can avoidthis and obtain all the benefits of asecure supply of a renewable resource.

Caroline Edser

RAWMATERIALS

Linear alkylbenzene

Russian oil firm plans to establishitself in petchems

Russian oil producer Tatneft aims tostrengthen its petrochemicalsbusiness by making a $3.2 bninvestment in a refining andpetrochemical complex inNizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. The complexwill be built in a 400 ha site locatednext to plants run byNizhenekamskneftekhim, a firmoperated by OAO Tataro-AmericanInvestments and Finance. Theproposed complex will be managed bya Tatneft affiliate, ZAO NizhnekamskOil Refinery. Construction will beundertaken in three phases. Phase 1,scheduled to be finished at the end of2008, will include a 7 M tonne/y oilrefinery. Phase II, which is expectedto begin in 2009, will include a 3.5 Mtonne/y fuel oil plant. Phase III, whichwill be constructed by 2010, willinclude plants for producing 39,000tonnes/y of benzene, 80,000 tonnes/yof linear alkylbenzene and a variety ofother petrochemical products. FosterWheeler and BNP Paribas have beendesignated as consultant andfinancial adviser, respectively, for theproject.

Chemical Week, 30 Aug 2006, (Website:http://www.chemweek.com)

Oleochemicals

Oxiteno starts expansion; P&G putsproject on hold

Oxiteno, a Sao Paolo-basedsubsidiary of Ultrapar, has startedconstruction work for its fatty alcoholsfacility at Camacari, Brazil, which hasa capacity of approximately 100,000

tonnes/y [Focus on Surfactants, Apr2005]. The facility, which will be builtfor $120 M, could also produce fattyalcohol co-products fatty acid andglycerine. It will start operating in 1H2007 and will use lauric vegetable oilas its main raw material. The fattyalcohols will be utilized inmanufacturing processes of powderand liquid laundry detergents, andfabric softeners. Oxiteno intends toset aside 30% of the facility’s outputfor captive use, with the rest to bemarketed on the merchant market inSouth America and other countries.The company expects to increase itssales by $80 M with the help of thefacility. Brazil’s consumption of fattyalcohols stands at around 90% of the50,000 tonnes/y imported by SouthAmerica. The fatty alcohols facility ispart of Oxiteno’s $320 M expansionproject at Camacari. Meanwhile, theplan of Procter & Gamble Chemicalsfor its FPG Oleochemicals jv for theconstruction of a 120,000 tonnes/yfatty acids plant at Kuantan, Malaysia[ibid, May 2005] has been put on hold.

Chemical Week, 30 Aug 2006, (Website:http://www.chemweek.com)

Taiko oleochemical project on streamin Jiangsu

Taiko Palm-Oleo (Zhangjiagang) CoLtd has successfully commissioned a150,000 tonne/y integrated facility forfatty acids, glycerine and soap basesin Jiangsu province, China. The $70M project is a joint venture betweentwo Malaysian firms, Kuala LumpurKepong Bhd (KLK) and TaikoMarketing Sdn Bhd [Focus onSurfactants, Mar 2005]. KLK isplanning further oleochemicalinvestments at YangzijiangInternational Chemical Industry Parkin the Zhiajiagang Bonded Area.Products will be used in the surfactant,polymer, coatings, pharmaceutical andagrochemical sectors.

China Chemical Reporter, 16 Jul 2006, 17 (20), 12

Major supermarkets sign up to takeaction on palm oil

On 2 Aug 2006 Morrisons was thelast of the major supermarkets in theUK to announce its intention to joininternational efforts to tackle theproblems caused by palm oil,following a campaign to highlight the

2 OCTOBER 2006

F O C U S O N S U R F A C T A N T S