Phoenix Petroleum allots P500 million for expansion

Publicly-listed Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is planning to invest about P500 million to expand its retail network to 200 this year, a company official said.

Bobby Tuason, Phoenix corporate communications manager, told reporters that they expect to spend from P2 to P2.5 million for each station.

The oil firm, Tuason said, has 91 stations. Of these, 80 are located in Southern Mindanao.

This year, he said the company would be focusing on its Luzon expansion.

“We will be focusing our expansion in Luzon,” Tuazon said.

To date, the company has six stations in Luzon. These are located in Zambales, Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Laguna, and Marikina.

He said the network expansion would be supported by the commercial operation of its 100 million liters Calaca-based oil depot next month.

“This new oil warehouse will be the backbone of our retail operations in Luzon which will be opening in March,” Tuason said.

The expansion, he said, is also in line with the recent agreement that Phoenix entered into with Philippine National Police (PNP) last October 2008. Petron Corp., which was recently fully-privatized, was the former fuel supplier of PNP.

The memorandum of agreement (MOA) involves the annual supply of fuel requirement of PNP amounting to 800 million liters.

This will specifically cover the fuel requirement of 17 camps of the police organization. By June this year, the company expects to put up its pump stations in the PNP camps.

The oil company, he said, is working on an agreement with PNP to increase the coverage of the MOA to 40 stations.

Phoenix also had the groundbreaking of its flagship station in Fort Bonifacio last December in time for the expansion program.

The flagship station is expected to start commercial operations by April this year.

On May 2008, Phoenix inaugurated a depot facility in New Was, Aklan.

In July 11, 2007, Phoenix Petroleum under the symbol PNX launched its initial public offering, becoming the first independent oil company to be listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange after the oil deregulation law was passed in 1998.

Phoenix Petroleum also became the first company from Davao City to be listed in the stock exchange.

Incorporated in May 2002 in Davao City, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has grown from a simple family venture to one of the most successful businesses in Davao and the Southern Mindanao area.

The company, then under the name Davao Oil Terminal Services Corp. (DOTSCO), began operations in its current form in January 2004, distributing petroleum products to various commercial entities in Mindanao.

In August 2006, the company was officially renamed to Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc.