Petron gets OK from stockholders for biofuels venture

MANILA, Philippines — Petron Corp. has secured the green light from its stockholders on its planned biofuels venture.

In a stock exchange filing, Petron said it received written assent from stockholders representing 75.93 percent of the total outstanding capital stock of the company on its proposed amendment of the company’s primary purpose under its articles of incorporation to include biofuels.

None voted against the proposal during the stockholders written assent exercise, the company said.

Petron plans to construct and operate a coco-methyl ester plant.

In line with this, the company’s board of directors earlier approved the amendment of its primary purpose under its articles of incorporation to include biofuels.

The proposed amendment will allow the company to construct and operate a coco-methyl ester plant and secure relevant permits.

Petron has a combined refining capacity of 268,000 barrels-per-day and produces a full range of world-class fuels and petrochemicals.

It operates about 40 terminals in the region and has around 2,800 service stations that sell gasoline and diesel.

Petron is programming to spend between P10 billion and P15 billion in capital expenditures annually over the next three years.

The Philippines is expected to get the lion’s share of the capex at around 70 percent, while Malaysia would receive the remaining 30 percent.

In terms of projects, the bulk of the investment or around P4 billion annually will be allocated for the service station expansion in both countries.

Petron is likewise looking at improving its logistical capability and expanding its storage facilities to make it more cost efficient, allocating around P2 billion to P3 billion annually for the projects.