Petron named among Asia’s fastest growing firms

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner, is on the lookout for opportunities in the region on the back of the success of its businesses in the Philippines and Malaysia,

Petron chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang said yesterday following its recognition as one of the fastest growing companies in Asia by London-based Platts, an energy industry information provider.

“Even while our investment focus is on our Philippine and Malaysian businesses, we are always on the lookout for other opportunities in the region.  We aim to be a key player in Asia and hopefully, our current investments will allow us to further expand,” Ang said.

The only Filipino company on the list, Petron placed sixth in the Top 20 which ranked companies based on their assets, revenues, profits and return on invested capital, the company announced yesterday.

“To be named one of Asia’s fastest growing companies is an honor for a Filipino company like Petron,” Ang said.

The recognition by the London-based research firm came amid Petron’s expansion into the Malaysian market, its growing retail network, and the completion of the Refinery Master Plan 2 (RMP-2) of its 180,000 barrels-per-day refinery in the province of Bataan.

For the refinery, Petron has poured in $2 billion to transform its existing refinery into one of the most advanced facilities in Asia.

“RMP-2 allows the use of alternative and lower-costing crude oils, significantly increases the production of high-margin fuels and petrochemicals, and the full utilization of its distillation capacity,” Petron said.

The oil firm is on track to commence commercial operation of the upgraded refinery by early 2015, a development that is expected to boost the company’s revenues and margins.

Furthermore, the refinery is expected to enhance the country’s supply security and lessen dependence on higher-costing imported fuels, the oil firm said.

Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets.