Several Chinese independent oil refiners, commonly known as ‘teapots’, are getting ready to start buying ethanol and blend it with their fuel to meet China’s regulation that says by 2020, gasoline in the country should contain 10 percent ethanol, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources at the refiners. The Chinese government announced in September last year a new nationwide ethanol mandate to expand the mandatory use of E10 fuel—gasoline containing 10 percent ethanol—from 11 trial provinces to the whole of China by 2020. Ethanol consumption in China would at least quadruple in the next three years due to this nationwide mandate, according to the Agricultural Policy Review of Iowa State University. China’s largest independent refiner Dongming Petrochemical Group has already obtained permits from the Ministry of Commerce to start ethanol blending, three company sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Dongming Petrochemical plans to begin importing ethanol via its […]