Jetti spending P100 M for network expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Independent oil player Jetti Petroleum Inc. is spending up to P100 million to bring its network of 100 retail stations to at least 120 this year, a ranking official said.

Jetti corporate affairs manager Leo Bellas said the company hopes to add 20 to 30 stations this year, scattered in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao as part of its network expansion.

The company intends to raise the amount for the additional 20 stations through a combination of debt and internally generated funds.

Bellas said Jetti intends to keep costs low to be able to maintain its advantage in an increasingly competitive market.

Bellas debunked claims that Jetti smuggles its products to keep its competitive advantage.

“We keep our costs low that is why we are able to sell our products at competitive prices,” Bellas said when asked about the smuggling allegations the company has faced in the past.

In 2011, the Bureau of Customs, then headed by Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez filed a P4-billion smuggling case against Jetti.

Bellas said Jetti is on track with its plan to put up a P1-billion bulk terminal in Mariveles, Bataan with a rated storage capacity of 68 million liters.

The bulk terminal was granted a five to seven-year income tax holiday and other incentives from the Board of Investments (BOI) after the project was endorsed to the agency by the Department of Energy (DOE) under the Downstream Oil Deregulation Act.

The project, that 65 percent financed by Metrobank and the remaining 35 percent by Jetti, will boost the company’s supply chain and overall operations and give momentum to the expansion of its retail stations that serve as catalyst for reasonably priced fuel in Jetti’s host communities.

Once completed, the Bataan bulk terminal would enable Jetti to have direct fuel importation in Luzon to supply the requirements of the company’s growing retail network in Northern and Central Luzon, as well as the South Luzon market’s requirements through Jetti’s Naic (Cavite) bulk terminal which has no importing capabilities.

The Bataan bulk terminal is Jetti’s second international import terminal for all its fuel products coming from Singapore and other countries. It will complement what is currently the company’s main import terminal located in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental that ships products to Jetti’s other fuel terminals in Mandaue City, Cebu; Iloilo City and Naic, Cavite.