Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of . From the refinery, Petron moves its products mainly by sea to 32 depots and terminals throughout the country.

History

Petron's history dates back to September 7, 1933, when Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (Standard Oil of New York) and Standard Oil of New Jersey (also known as Jersey Standard) merged their interests in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

into a 50–50 joint venture named the

Standard Vacuum Oil Company The Standard Vacuum Oil Company was an American joint venture by Standard Oil of New Jersey and Socony-Vacuum Oil (aka Mobil) established in 1931 to make and market products in the Far East.Drucker, Peters F. Management, p. 724. Around World War ...

(Stanvac). It operated in 50 countries, including the Philippines,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, and the region of

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

. In 1953, the Philippine national government, partly to promote

Claro M. Recto Claro Mayo Recto Jr. (born Claro Recto y Mayo; February 8, 1890 – October 2, 1960) was a Filipino politician, jurist, and poet. He is remembered for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political thoug ...

's national

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

program and partly to respond to increasing international oil prices, attempted to launch a national oil company that caters Filipino consumers with affordable petroleum products. In 1957, Stanvac won the concession to build and operate a refinery in Bataan. For this purpose, FilOil Refinery Corporation was established in 1959. In 1962, Stanvac was dissolved and the marketing and refining interests were divided between the former partners. Esso Philippines, Inc. took over Stanvac's Philippine operations, including FilOil Refinery Corporation.

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic ...

was a tradename used by Standard Oil of New Jersey. In 1973, the Philippine government, through the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), acquired Esso Philippines, Inc., including FilOil Refinery Corporation. Esso Philippines, Inc. was renamed Petrophil Corporation (Petrophil) and by 1974, Esso

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Ga ...

s were rebranded as "Petron", a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMobil (successor of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company) also sold its share in FilOil Refinery Corporation to PNOC. The oil refining and marketing units in PNOC, including FilOil Refinery Corporation, were merged into Petrophil Corporation. In 1988, Petrophil Corporation was renamed Petron Corporation. As part of the government's privatization program, PNOC sought a strategic partner that would give Petron a reliable supply of oil, plus access to state-of-the-art refining technology. The result was a partnership with the world's largest oil producer,

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...

. On February 3, 1994, PNOC and Aramco Overseas Co. B.V. signed a share purchase agreement that gave both an equal 40% stake in Petron Corporation. The remaining 20% of Petron shares were sold to the public. On August 11, 2006, a Petron

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined ...

''Solar 1'', carrying fuel oil sank, causing the

Guimaras oil spill On August 11, 2006, an oil spill occurred in Panay Gulf when the oil tanker, MT ''Solar 1'', sank off the coasts of Guimaras and Negros in the Philippines, causing what is considered to be the worst oil spill in the country's history. Background ...

, the biggest oil spill in Philippine history. In 2008, Saudi Aramco sold its entire stake to the

Ashmore Group Ashmore Group plc is a large British investment manager dedicated to the emerging markets. Headquartered in London, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The business, which was establishe ...

, a London-listed investment group. Ashmore acquired an additional 11% when it made a required tender offer to other shareholders. By July 2008, Ashmore, through its SEA Refinery Holdings B.V., had a 50.57 percent of Petron's stock. Ashmore's payment was made in December 2008. In December 2008, Ashmore acquired PNOC's 40% stake. In the same month,

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded ...

(SMC) said it was in the final stages of negotiations with the Ashmore Group to buy up to 50.1 percent of Petron. In 2010, SMC acquired majority control of Petron Corporation. In January 2013, Petron officially opened their Malaysian operations, rebranding all Esso and Mobil stations across

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

. On November 9, 2021, SMC CEO Ramon Ang offered to sell Petron back to the government in response to calls for re-nationalization due to rising fuel costs.

Products and services

The company's ISO-14001-certified refinery processes

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

into a full range of petroleum products, including LPG, gasoline, diesel,

jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning " wax", and was re ...

, industrial fuel oil, solvents, asphalts and mixed xylene. Petron's

lube oil A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

blending plant produces mechanical lubricants and grease. These products are also sold through service stations and sales centers, and directly to industrial customers with the largest client being the power sector. Petron also supplies jet fuels to international and domestic carriers. Through more than 1,200 service stations, they retail gasoline, diesel and kerosene to motorists and public transport operators. They also sell their LPG brand Gasul to households and other consumers through an extensive dealership network. Petron opened its first fuel additives blending plant in the Asia-Pacific region at the

Subic Bay Freeport Zone The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shorterned as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales, and the towns of Morong and Herm ...

in November 2008. The plant has the capacity to blend 12,000 metric tons (MT) of fuel additives per year. In 2006, the facility was constructed in partnership with

Innospec Innospec Inc., formerly known as Octel Corporation and Associated Octel Company, Ltd., is a specialty chemical company. It comprises three business units: Fuel Specialties, responsible for the development and supply of additives for fuels and wh ...

. As part of the agreement. In April 2008, Petron commissioned the country's first

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewabl ...

feedstock units, at its -per-day

Bataan Refinery The Bataan Refinery is an oil refinery in Limay, Bataan, Philippines. It is owned and operated by Petron Corporation and is the largest oil refinery in the Philippines with the capacity to process . It began operation in 1961. History The Bataa ...

. The feedstock unit converts black products (fuel oil) into LPG, gasoline, and diesel. It also purifies propylene to manufacture food packaging, appliances, suitcases, furniture, DVDs and car parts.

Sports teams

Petron Blaze Spikers The Petron Blaze Spikers were a professional women's volleyball team that played in the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) from 2013 to 2020. After the cancellation of the 2020 season of the PSL due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the team took a le ...

* Petron Blaze Boosters

References

External links

* {{PSEi Oil and gas companies of the Philippines San Miguel Corporation subsidiaries Companies based in Mandaluyong Energy companies established in 1933 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1933 Philippine brands 1994 initial public offerings Companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange Philippine companies established in 1933 Former ExxonMobil subsidiaries Gas stations in the Philippines

History

Products and services

Sports teams

See also

References

External links