Seaoil sets P2.98-B expansion budget

MANILA, Philippines - Mid-sized oil player Seaoil Philippines Inc. is pouring in P2.98 billion to finance its expansion program for 2014, its top official said in a briefing yesterday.

The amount would be used to fund the construction of 120 new gasoline stations to be opened next year, one mega-station and three oil depots, said Francis Glenn Yu, Seaoil president and chief executive officer.

Seaoil currently has a network of 340 stations.

Of the amount, P1.8 billion would be used to fund the construction of 120 gasoline stations, or P15 million for each station. Majority of the gasoline stations would be opened in the third and fourth quarter of the year.

Yu said Seaoil will build 50 stations around Luzon, 40 in Mindanao and 30 in the Visayas.

For the construction of three two-hectare oil depots, Seaoil will be spending P1 billion while the balance would be used to build a Seaoil mega-station, a bigger than usual gasoline station to be built along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

Yu said Seaoil’s SCTEX mega-station marks the first gasoline station to be opened by an independent oil player along the expressway. These so called mega-stations are complete with parking areas, emergency stations, convenience stores and restaurants. The mega-station will be fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2014.

At present, gasoline stations along the expressway are operated by major oil firms Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Caltex Philippines and Total.

This year, Seaoil has invested P1 billion to strengthen its oil distribution network with new oil storage depots. The oil firm has opened two depots over the past few months, and will soon formally open its second oil depot in Davao.

With a 40-million liter capacity, the Seaoil depot in Sta. Cruz, Davao will be Mindanao’s largest oil storage facility when it opens in January, Yu said.

A smaller-sized fuel storage facility in Guimbal, Iloilo is being used for its Visayan operations.

In the last quarter of 2012, Seaoil also inaugurated its Bacolod depot, which is the largest in the Negros and Panay islands with a capacity of 24 million liters.