Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

SamoaFiber Holdings, a U.S. and European group of executives and scientists, could invest up to $600 million in the production of bio oil in Loreto, Peru's northernmost region, said Ricardo Salmón, head of the region's development project.

Since 2001, the company has been working on a project to bring to market Samoa Fiber, a raw material for the production of bio oil.

SamoaFiber has already been authorized to use 15,000 hectares of land in Loreto for the cultivation of its product, which is to provide an alternative to fossil fuel.

Salmón explained that the company, which has been exempt from a series of taxes, has planned to build a bio oil production plant in the region.

"It will also take advantage of the Amazon River so that the production of bio fuel can be shipped to Europe," said Salmón.

He stated the company could invest up to $53 million for every 5,000 hectares of land.

As explained on its website, Samoa Fiber has similar energy content to other bio fuel sources (“feed stock” ) but has the advantage of a growth rate the is 3-4 times greater than any other feed stock.

The group has assured that this will produce the lowest cost renewable bio fuel in the world, and that it is potentially competitive with Crude Oil [and Coal] on a cost per MJ.