Total bares 2003 expansion plans

TotalFinaElf Phils. (TFE Phils.), marketer of the Total brand and today’s most aggressive oil company, continues to be bullish about the economy and is expanding its business in the country with the opening up of about 20 service stations this year.

At the same time, TFE Phils. will be completing its strategic oil depot at the Manila Harbor Center industrial park by the second quarter.

"This year, we will be opening up more service stations in strategic areas in and out of Metro Manila to address the increasing demand of local consumers for our premium products and services," said TFE Phils. vice president for retail Gilles Cartier.

The new sites for Total service stations include Subic, Bataan, Bulacan, Angeles City, Laguna, Pasay, La Union, Camarines Norte and Malabon. TFE Phils.’ Expansion projects will bring the company’s service stations to over 70, bringing it closer to its plan to construct 100 service stations in the medium-term.

Cartier added that for the first time this year, TFE Phils. is aggressively searching for able entrepreneurs who can become retailers of Total service stations in the following sites: Merville, Pasay; Canlubang, Laguna; Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong; and Rosario, La Union. TFE Phils. also encourages lot owners to explore possibilities of partnering with Total for the construction of new service stations this year. The move is part of the company’s bid to bolster its position in the industry.

In response to government’s call for cleaner air, TFE Phils. began marketing this year a gasoline with reduced benzene and aromatics contents to comply with the provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Cartier said TFE Phils.’ high-quality and environment-friendly products will be made more accessible to the consumers and business clients once the company operates its oil depot in Manila.

The depot, which is being constructed in a two-hectare area, will have a capacity to store up to nine million liters and will cater to service stations and major industrial accounts of the company in Metro Manila and in nearby provinces.

TFE Phils. expansion projects this year is on top of investments in an oil depot in Bataan and about 50 service stations in the Luzon region.

Aside from these facilities, TFE Phils. also operates its LPG import and storage terminal near the coastal town of Tabangao, Batangas and LPG refilling plants in Taguig and Pasig.