2010/3/10
Petron to buy into petrochem company
Oil refiner Petron Corp. said Tuesday it signed an agreement to acquire 40 percent of Petrochemical Asia (HK) Ltd., which indirectly owns a polypropylene plant in Limay, Bataan.
Petron said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the purchase was “part of its strategy to further diversify into the petrochemicals business and add additional revenue streams.”
“With this partnership, Petron will be able to share in the incremental value of converting propylene into polypropylene. Polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications, including food packaging, textiles, plastic parts and reusable containers, laboratory equipment and automotive components,” Petron said.
Petron, which operates a 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Bataan, signed the agreement with Vantage Stride (Mauritius) Ltd.
Petron is the country’s largest oil refiner, with a 180,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Limay. It has about 1,300 service stations and supplies 40% of the country’s fuel needs. The oil firm plans to put up 300 more gas stations in 2010.
PETRON CORPORATION is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines. Supplying nearly 40% of the country’s oil requirements, our world-class products and quality services fuel the lives of millions of Filipinos. We are dedicated and passionate about our vision to be the leading provider of total customer solutions in the energy sector and its derivative businesses.
We operate a refinery in Limay, Bataan, with a rated capacity of 180,000 barrels a day. Our ISO-14001-certified refinery processes crude oil into full range of petroleum products including LPG, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, industrial fuel oil, solvents, asphalts, and the petrochemical feedstocks-mixed xylene and propylene.
From the refinery, we move our products mainly by sea to our 32 depots and terminal situated all over the country. Through this nationwide network, we supply fuel oil, diesel, and LPG to various industrial customers. The power sector is our largest customer. We also supply jet fuel at key airports to international and domestic carriers.
Through over 1,400 service stations, we retail gasoline, diesel, and kerosene to motorists and public transport operators. We also sell our LPG brand Gasul to household and other consumers through an extensive dealership network.
We operate a world-class lube oil blending plant at our Pandacan Terminal, where we manufacture lubes and greases. These are also sold through service stations and sales centers. We also operate a blending plant in Subic Bay that produces fuel additives to increase the efficiency of our widely-acclaimed fuels namely Blaze, XCS Plus, Xtra Unleaded and DieselMax.
We are expanding our non-fuels business which include our convenience store brand “Treats” we have partnered with major fast-food chains and other consumer service to give our customers a one-stop full service experience. We are also putting up additional company-owned and company-operated service stations in strategic locations.
Petron president Eric Recto said Petrochemical Asia was an investor in Philippine Propylene Inc. but declined to give details of the deal.
“We can’t disclose yet. We close in the next 30 days,” he said.
Petron said in an earlier regulatory filing that it would “explore opportunities for venturing into downstream petrochemicals, processing propylene, benzene, toluene or xylene production into derivatives or even into finished products.”
It said it would also pursue mergers and acquisitions to complement its core business and leverage on strengths.
“This could include downstream petrochemical production or LPG import/refilling facilities. With its partnership with San Miguel Corp., the company will maximize synergies with SMC’s network, products and services, for further enhancement of Petron’s retail and distribution network/business,” it said.
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2010/3/10 businessmirror.com.ph
Petron, Vantage Stride ink petrochem business accord
PETRON Corp., one of the country’s oil refiners, has inked agreement with Vantage Stride (Mauritius) Ltd. for the purchase of 40 percent of the outstanding shares in Petrochemical Asia (HK) Ltd. (PAHL).
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Petron said it signed the agreement as it bids to further diversify into the petrochemicals business and add new revenue streams for the company.
PAHL indirectly owns a polypropylene plant based in Limay, Bataan.
“With this partnership, the company will be able to share in the incremental value of converting propylene into polypropylene. Polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications, including food packaging, textiles, plastic parts and reusable containers, laboratory equipment, automotive components etc,” Petron said.
In the second quarter of 2009, Petron started commercial operations of a benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) production unit at its Bataan refinery.
The BTX unit has the capacity to produce 22,800 metric ton of benzene and 150,000 metric ton of toluene per year, which also increased the refinery’s capacity to produce mixed xylene by 220,000 metric ton per year.
In the second quarter of 2009, Petron started commercial operations of a benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) production unit at its Bataan refinery.
The compounds are raw materials used in the manufacture of various products such as home electrical goods, food containers, machine housing and solvents.
Ramon S. Ang, Petron chairman and chief executive, earlier said the BTX unit will allow us to capture additional revenue streams at a time when refining margins are weak.
“As demand picks up, we expect prices of petrochemicals to improve and substantially contribute to our bottom line. Together with our petro fluidized catalytic cracker (petroFCC) and propylene recovery unit, the BTX facility will provide a boost to the local petrochemical industry and benefit other vital downstream manufacturing sectors,” Ang said.
Petron inaugurated the petroFCC and propylene recovery unit in 2008 allowing it to convert more fuel oil into white products (e.g. liquefied petroleum gasoline, diesel and gasoline) and enabling the production of the valuable petrochemical feedstock propylene.
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2004-2-20 Asia Chemical Weekly
Overseas investors interested in Philippine's Petrocorp
Philippine polypropylene (PP) producer Petrocorp is in talks with a number of European petrochemical producers on the sale of a 51% stake in the debt-strapped company, according to Petrocorp chairman Antonio Garcia.
Petrocorp is surviving solely on its tolling business, he said. The company is producing PP at its 160 000 tonne/year plant in Mariveles, Bataan, for three trading companies.
Petrochemical Corp. of Asia and Pacific (Petrocorp)
11 January 2001
Philippine Petrocorp PP plant restarted for Itochu deal
MANILA (CNI)--Petrochemicals Corp of Asia and Pacific’s (Petrocorp) polypropylene (PP) plant in Bataan, south of here, which was shut down last April with financial troubles, apparently has been restarted, CNI was told Thursday.
Sources said it is operating at about 70% of its 245 000 tonne/year nameplate capacity, producing primarily for Japan’s Itochu Corp, which has a toll-processing contract with Petrocorp.
Petrocorp officers confirmed that the plant has been restarted but declined to comment further.
A month ago, Petrocorp sources told CNI that their company was finalising a toll-processing agreement with Itochu under which the Japanese trader would supply feedstock to the plant and buy its entire output.
2003/7/23
Petrocorp (Bataan, Philippines) has stopped production at its 160,000-m.t./year polypropylene (PP) plant at Bataan due to a propylene feedstock shortage, industry sources say. The cash-strapped Petrocorp was reportedly toll producing PP for local trading companies
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The Chemical Industries of the Philippines, Inc. (CIP) was founded by Dr. Eusebio S. Garcia as a single-proprietorship in January 1951. Inspired by the conclusion of economists then that "the industrialization of a country was best measured by the amount of sulfuric acid consumed". CIP soon was to be the very first chemical manufacturing company in the Philippines. In 1958, with its main operations being that of a 10 MT/day sulfuric acid plant - the first ever in the country. CIP was incorporated - and it embarked on fertilizer manufacturing as another major activity - paving the way for the development of the country's chemical industry.
In more than fifty years of its existence, CIP grew steadily from a single proprietorship operating a modest sulfuric acid plant to what it is today - parent to the Chemphil Group of Companies a number of which are joint venture companies co-owned by distinguished global partners, respectively.
Under the founder's able management, CIP furthered the development of the sulfuric acid industry in the country. Another and more modern sulfuric acid plant followed the first. Thereafter, CIP developed other pioneering projects.
The early seventies saw CIP's entrepreneurial years as it established two more major chemical plants under their respective corporate structures. These are the first polyphosphates plant and the first alkyl benzene plant in the Philippines.
Today, the company is the holding company of major corporations primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of industrial chemicals. The CIP subsidiaries and affiliates are also in general insurance and personal care products. CIP itself as an investing company (CIP-Investments Division) is into real estate investments. It also provides management support services to its subsidiaries and affiliates (CIP-Management Division). As the Chemphil Group's holding company, it now fully owns CAWC Inc., has a majority share in LMG Chemicals Corporation (LMG). It owns 41% of Perfumeria Española Corp. (PEC) known in the Philippines for the Heno de Pravia brand of personal care lines.
CIP's Management Division provides the Chemphil Group - under a shared services environment - a full range of corporate management services. This vital role include finance, investment, budget planning and procedures, electronic data processing and personnel and manpower development, liaison work with government agencies, and corporate affairs services. It also assists in the corporate planning and development program with marketing-related research and project studies of the member companies of the Chemphil Group.
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In the mid-90's, the Chemphil Group embarked on another first. Along with a number of industrialists and investing companies. Jointly, CIP, LMG and CAWC - the Chemphil Group - is now a significant investor group in Petrochemical Corporation of Asia-Pacific (Petrocorp). Petrocorp manufactures polypropylene resins for downstream industries - such as the plastic manufacturers. Petrocorp - with its world-class polypropylene plant (built under a license agreement with BASF for its technology) is recognized by the government as a major flagship industrial project. Petrocorp ushered in the Philippine Petrochemical Industry.
In the Special Board Meetings of CIP and the other affiliates (CAWC and LMG) held on November 25, 2008, the respective Boards approved to write-off the investments of the said companies to Petrocorp with 100% allowance.
The original company, Chemical Industries of the Philippines, Inc. (CIP), was incorporated in 1958 to operate Dr. Garcia's 30 MT/day sulfuric acid plant. By 1967, it had expanded to two 100 MT/day sulfuric acid plants and became the first Filipino company to manufacture Oleum, aluminum sulfate, ammonium sulfate and battery acid.
LMG Chemicals Inc. (LMG), which was incorporated in 1970 to become the pioneer company to produce alkyl benzene in Southeast Asia.During the 1980's, Chemical Industries of the Philippines reorganized and rationalized its manufacturing and investing activities in their respective corporate structures. The sulfuric acid manufacturing and related-activities - were lodged under a new corporate structure under the name of Chemphil Manufacturing Corporation (CMC) incorporated in 1981. (In 1988, CMC and LMG were merged to form Chemphil-LMG, Inc. (CLI) and later changed its name to LMG Chemicals Corp.)
CAWC, Inc. is the Philippines' pioneer and sole manufacturer of technical grade sodium tri-polyphosphates (STPP) and tetra-sodium pyrophosphates (TSPP) for the Philippine detergent industry.
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The National
Petrochemical Co., a subsidiary of Iran’s petrochemical giant NPC
International, has agreed to infuse $100 million to reopen the Bataan Polyethylene
Corp. (BPC) after buying out 60-percent stake of the NPC Alliance Corp. of the Gatchalian-owned
firm Metro Alliance Holdings and Equities.
With the Iranian firm’s entry, the Gatchalian group
is now limited to a 40-percent stake in the NPC Alliance Corp.
NPC ALLIANCE CORPORATION (NPCA)
was established in August of 2005 as a joint venture of Iran's National Petrochemical Corporation (NPC International Limited and Petrochemical Industries Investments Company) and Polymax Worldwide Limited (NPCA), converging together to form a world-class polyethylene plant in the country. The Plant and property presently occupy 187,200 square meters within PAFC Industrial Park Barangay Batangas II Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines.
Petron selling 40% stake
Petron Corp. is in talks to sell 40 percent of its stake to
foreign investors,
including PTT Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand, to fund the second
phase of the local refiner’s expansion.
“We’re talking with a lot of
companies. In large, we can offer 40 percent to the new investor,”
Petron chairman and
chief executive Ramon Ang told reporters at the sidelines of the
stockholders’ meeting in Pasig City. He declined
to name the foreign investors.
“Talks
are ongoing and we still cannot tell when we will finalize
things. I also cannot tell how many companies we are in talks
with,” Ang said. He added Petron would
likely issue new shares to accommodate the new investor.
Petron needs to raise $1 billion to expand the
company’s refinery
operations.
“The
40 percent, in large, will be mostly new shares. We are looking
at expanding the refinery to make it more efficient and process a
much bigger percentage of crude,” Ang said.
Petron president Eric Recto said the oil refiner needed $1
billion for the second phase of Petron’s expansion.
“It’s [$1 billion] not [the kind of]
money that we can raise from local sources. I doubt that there
would be an investor group who can accommodate a billion dollars
of new capital. It makes sense for us to go out and look for
someone who could provide value, not just capital,”
Recto said.
He said Petron was looking for investors with “the financial muscle and technical
capability.”
He said Petron
could issue new equity to raise the $1 billion it needed for the
refinery expansion, form a joint venture with the new partner to
pursue the project or sell primary and secondary shares.
Recto said PTT, Thailand’s biggest oil player, had
expressed interest to invest in Petron.
“PTT,
for starter, will help us in turning Petrocorp around. It’s interested in a regional
expansion idea” and that Petron could be its
logical partner, he said.
PTT, through its subsidiary Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical
Co., has signed a technical services agreement to rehabilitate
and commission the polypropylene plant in Mariveles, Bataan,
where Petron has a 40- percent stake.
Petron earlier acquired 40 percent of Petrochemical Asia (HK)
Ltd., owner of Philippine Polypropylene Inc. (formerly
Petrocorp), which owns the Bataan plant.