By Shane Romig /BUENOS AIRES (MarketWatch) — Argentina has asked the European Commission to issue an opinion on whether Spain’s recent decision to block Argentine biodiesel imports violates World Trade Organization rules.

Spain’s actions “shouldn’t be allowed by the European Union as it would be incompatible with the commitments assumed by the bloc in international trade agreements and the rules stipulated by the WTO,” Argentina’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

The ministry sent a letter with its request to EC trade director Jean-Luc Demarty.

Last month, Spain started requiring that all biodiesel used there be sourced from European Union producers. The measure effectively blocks imports of the fuel from Argentina, which had dominated Spain’s biodiesel market. Leer más »

By CIARAN GILES/ , Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez, right, sits with her Vice President Amado Boudou prior to her announcement of a bill to nationalize Spain’s controlled oil company YPF, at Government House in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An Argentine prosecutor asked on May 14, 2012 for a federal judge to open an illegal enrichment probe against Boudou.

MADRID — Spanish oil company Repsol said Tuesday it had made the first step in taking legal action against Argentina for nationalizing its energy firm YPF.

In a statement, Repsol YPF SA said it had sent a letter to Argentine President Cristina Kirchner notifying her that it sees a controversy in the seizure of YPF which should be resolved by the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Leer más »

* Argentina is a leading supplier of biodiesel to Spain

* Spanish biodiesel producers accuse Argentina of dumping

By Maximilian Heath/BUENOS AIRES, June 29 (Reuters) – Argentine biodiesel producers fear their top buyer Spain could soon curb imports of the fuel, hitting revenues and forcing them to find new markets, industry leaders said on Wednesday.

Spain’s government is expected to take steps aimed at forcing biodiesel buyers to purchase the fuel from European producers to stem the flood of cheap imports from countries such as Argentina, a leading global exporter. Leer más »

BUENOS AIRES, June/(Reuters) – Global commodities firm Louis Dreyfus will invest $40 million to build a biodiesel plant in Argentina’s Rosario area, one of the world’s biggest grains hubs, a company source said on Tuesday.

The South American country is one of the biggest global exporters of biodiesel, made using soyoil. Argentina is also the world’s No.1 soyoil and soymeal supplier. Leer más »

By Tony C. Dreibus – Jun 7, 2011 10:30 AM GMT-0300.Increased demand for vegetable oils to make biodiesel will lead to shortages of the materials, raising the cost of fats used to make food, Oil World said.

Argentina is expected to produce 2.3 million metric tons of biodiesel, made from soybeans, this year, up 27 percent from 2010, Oil World said in a report today. Exports may total 1.5 million tons, according to the report. In Brazil, biodiesel output may gain 14 percent, Oil World said. Leer más »

Argentina exported U.S. $ 2,200 million for two million tonnes of biofuels by the end of 2011, which will make the country the second largest exporter, as indicated by INTA specialists during a workshop on international and national institutions of the European Union.

“By the end of 2011 is expected to produce 3,200,000 tons of biofuel as an exportable surplus will leave about two million tonnes. The rest will be input for the domestic market, “said the coordinator of the National Bioenergy National Institute of Technology Agropecuaria (INTA) Jorge Hilbert. Leer más »

Jim Lane | April 1, 2011/In Argentina, Digest columnist, and Emerging Markets Online CEO, Will Thurmond reports from the Argentina Clean Energy Congress.

“First there was a big debate between EBB’s Rafaello Garraffolo and CADER’s Alfredo Langesfeld.  It was short and sweet. Freddie asked EBB – you don’t have enough land for biodiesel, why not use ours from Argentina?  Rafaello ducked, dodged, deflected, and blamed splash n dash and overcapacity (same as Jobe on overcapacity). Amusing. Leer más »

Argentina’s installed capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of biodiesel a year is set to rise to 2.5 million tonnes a year in 2011.

The road to 2011 has seen a ramp-up in production with Argentina’s biodiesel output totalling 1.5 million tonnes in the first ten months of 2010, up 56.8% on the year. The country exported 76.7% of the output. Leer más »

Planning Minister Julio De Vido, undertook to update the domestic price of biodiesel that remains frozen from the Ministry of Interior established Comercion Supply Act for the entire marketing chain liquid fuels.

Urgente24 reported 8 / 11 that negotiations were between the producers and the government to unfreeze the internal value of biodiesel derived from soybean (see related). However, the conflict would come to an end for the pressures of the association that brings together workers in the sector.

Biodiesel.com.ar site reported, the update of prices was rushed by a demonstration of the Union of Petroleum private gas and biofuels San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, which warned of the effect of this freeze on jobs. Leer más »

The total project cost will exceed USD 600,000.

Researchers from the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering of the University of Concepción (UdeC), based in Chillán, will begin a project that focuses on the cultivation of oleic microalgae for the manufacture of biofuels tomorrow.

According to Jose Fernando Reyes, academic and director of technology and research at UdeC, this is “a project whose concept does not exist in Chile at this time.” Leer más »