Benguet finds oil treasure in ‘petroleum nut’
Joekerr
First Posted 23:26:00 07/02/2009
Filed Under: Alternative energy, Energy, Oil & Gas - Upstream
activities
LA TRINIDAD, Bebguet -- Agriculturists and villagers are propagating
seedlings of a “petroleum nut” locally known as apisang which, they
say, could be an alternative source of fuel and energy.
Michael Bengwayan, an agriculturist, said the oil extracted from the
nut could be used for cooking and lighting.
More than 30,000 seedlings have been produced since 2007, he said. The
first batch was planted by 23 farmers in Kapangan and Kibungan towns.
Agriculture scientists see the nut, or resin cheesewood (scientific
name Pittosporum resiniferum), as a source of sustainable fuel in the
Cordillera and the answer to India’s jatropha (Jatropha curcas), which
is now being promoted by biodiesel advocates all over the world.
“Why does the government have to spend P125 million for jatropha when
we have our own source of alternative fuel?” asked Bengwayan in a
press forum here.
He presented research results on the nut that showed its prospect as
an alternative fuel that, he said, could energize rural households.
Bengwayan, also a director of the Pine Tree, a non-profit organization
working on ecological education, training, research and information,
said the nut has a higher rate of octane, which was more combustible
than jatropha.
The Benguet State University is doing research on areas where the
apisang trees thrive, the germination of the seeds, multiplication of
the seedlings and their sustainability, Bengwayan said.
The tree is endemic to the Philippines and is believed to be the
country’s “most promising biofuel treasure, which could provide energy
to rural areas and reduce global warming,” he said.
It thrives in Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Mt. Province, and Ifugao and is
also known locally as hanga (Tagalog), dingo (Mt. Province) and sagaga
(Abra).
Bengwayan said the extracted oil could be used for cooking when
blended with kerosene (with a ratio of three parts oil and one part
kerosene) and for lighting.
The oil could also be used to cure stomachache and prevent skin
infection, he said.
Propagating the seedlings can help contribute to the region’s carbon
sink, a process that helps reduce carbon dioxide in the environment
and reduce global warming, he said.
Bengwayan said more seedlings would be distributed to farmers and
villagers.
“They may sell the oil if they have an excess supply. But the
important factor here is we are able to save and not destroy the
environment,” he said.
Bengwayan’s group has established a seed bank in the village of
Longlong here to keep the seedlings. It has been training farmers to
maintain their own seed bank. Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon