Thailand's PTT urged to expand Phl presence

MANILA, Philippines- PTT Philippines Corp., a unit of Thai oil giant PTT Public Co. Ltd., is being urged to further expand its presence in the Philippines, the country’s top energy official said.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said they are trying to convince PTT, along with other investors, to continue to help in promoting competition in the Philippine oil industry.

“We are trying to encourage competition. It would help if they (PTT) would decide to get bigger here,” he said.

This year, PTT plans to increase its nationwide network by 10 to 15 retail stations. One retail station would need about P20 million in investment.

As of end-2010, PTT Philippines operates about 43 retail stations, up from 34 in 2009.

In Thailand, the government-owned PTT runs some 1,200 stations and five of six refineries.

Almendras also confirmed that PTT is still interested to participate in the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) program of the Philippine government.

The company earlier expressed interest in putting up a 1,200-megawatt LNG facility in Limay, Bataan.

Aside from its pump business in the country, PTT supplies petrochemical products to local manufacturers.

Based on PTT statistics, the Philippines is one of the top five countries for PTT’s export of plastic products in Thailand.