PetroEnergy completes stock rights offer

MANILA, Philippines — PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC) of the Yuchengco Group has successfully completed its stock rights offer, raising around P758.3 million to expand its renewable energy business.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the company said it offered 157.98 million shares to stockholders at a ratio of one share for every 2.6 shares owned at a price of P4.80 per rights share.

It completed the rights offer on Jan. 26 and plans to list the shares on Feb. 2, subject to PSE approval.

PERC said proceeds of the offer will be used to bankroll renewable energy projects and for general corporate purposes.

The stock rights offer is among the fund-raising activities the company has planned to finance the equity component of its three projects lined up in the next two years amounting to P6.7 billion.

These projects are the 14-megawatt (MW) Nabas wind power project in Aklan, the 49-MW Tarlac solar power plant and 10-MW solar hybrid power project in Puerto Princesa.

The company has allotted P1.6 billion for the 14-MW expansion of the existing Nabas wind farm in Aklan. The new location is expected to have higher wind speed and capacity factor.

It is spending P2.4 billion for the 49-MW Tarlac-2 solar-power project. Off-take proposals have been offered to potential distribution utilities in Tarlac, lower than the last feed-in-tariff (FIT) rate of P8.69 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) to make it competitive with conventional power sources.

PERC has also earmarked P855 million for the 5-10 MW hybrid solar power project in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It is targeted for commercial operations within the first quarter.

Once completed, these projects will help the company nearly double its capacity in the next two years or by 2019, PERC vice president Francisco Delfin Jr. said earlier.

So far, it has around 100 MW capacity. This comes from the 20-MW Maibarara Geothermal power plant located in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, which is 65 percent owned by PERC through its wholly-owned subsidiary PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PEGC) in joint venture firm Maibarara Geothermal Inc. This has been expanded by another 12 MW.

Also through its subsidiary PEGC, it also owns 56 percent of PetroSolar, which owns and operates the 50-MW Tarlac solar power project.

It also partly owns the 36-MW Nabas-1 wind power project under PWEI. Its shareholders include PGEC (40 percent), Thai firm BCPG Public Co. Ltd. (40 percent) and EEI Power Corp. (20 percent).