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Commodity Online

NEW DELHI: Three of India s major oil companies, Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum will form a joint venture to take up ethanol production in Brazil.

They together will have a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture, while a local Brazilian firm will have the remaining.

A decision in this regard was taken after Latin America s largest economy Brazil on Wednesday invites Indian companies to join sugar cane farming there for commercial purposes.

Speaking to reporters here, Visiting Brazalian Minister of State for Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge said, Indian companies could buy ethanol manufacturing companies and invest in cane farming and producing ethanol in Brazil.

He said, Brazil was encouraging India to raise the percentage of ethanol in petrol and would allow companies investing in ethanol production in Brazil to export the green fuel back home.

Earlier he held discussions with India s petroleum minister Murali Deora.

Deora said the Government plans to double ethanol quantity in petrol to 10 per cent from October. State run fuel retailers are already talking to various companies in Brazil for cane farming and ethanol production at an investment of close to $600 million.