Haynes and Boone's Newsroom
Paul Dickerson in The Wall Street Journal: Shell, Other Oil Firms Bolster Biofuels Spending
12/30/2009
Big oil companies don't appear to be interested in generating niche fuels. Rather, they are targeting investments at companies such as Codexis that can make a significant dent in a global 80-million-barrel-a-day fuel market. And they are steering clear of biofuels such as corn-based ethanol made from edible crops.
These investments are "proof that the oil industry sees the writing on the wall; they know they need to adapt," says Paul Dickerson, a partner at the law firm Haynes and Boone LLP and a former chief operating officer at the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "We are not going to stop using oil, but these companies are aware that other energy sources are gaining traction, and they need to diversify their business plans just as America needs to diversify its energy supply."
Oil company interest in biofuels may be the industry's best chance right now.
This article excerpted from The Wall Street Journal. For full text, please click here. (Subscription required.)