SAN RAMON (CALIFORNIA): Chevron Corp is planning to source feedstocks including animal fat from Latin America to feed its US renewable diesel plans, according to the oil giant’s renewable energy head.

       “The industry in Latin America is not really developed yet, but I can see that happening,” Kevin Lucke, president of Chevron Renewable Energy Group, said Tuesday in an interview at a conference in Sao Paulo.

       He cited changes in the United States – where biofuel growth caused the nascent used-cooking oil industry to develop – as an example of what he expects.

       Chevron already imports some biofuel feedstocks from the region, but Lucke said he sees the opportunity to import more materials such as used cooking oil, animal fat and distillers corn oil, which is derived from production of corn-based ethanol.

       The company is also looking at other crops like canola and camelina for oil. Chevron would be less likely to source soybeans from Brazil, though, he added.

       Lucke said he believes the United States “will continue to back down” from exporting soybeans, another key feedstock, due to increasing domestic demand. — Bloomberg