The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the amendment to Petron Corp.’s incorporation papers that would pave the way for the company to own a biofuel facility.
Petron said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday it received on Dec. 29, 2022 the SEC approval on the amendment to its articles of incorporation.
“The proposed amendment will allow the company to construct and operate a coco-methyl ester plant and secure relevant permits,” it said.
Petron included biofuels in the company’s primary purpose.
Petron earlier acquired a palm methyl ester plant in Malaysia to serve as an internal source for its biodiesel products. The plant underwent capacity expansion to support higher demand for biodiesel early this year.
Petron is the Philippines’ largest oil company, operating the only remaining refinery that is capable of providing nearly 40 percent of the country’s petroleum requirements.
The company operates a 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Bataan, 30 terminals and over 2,000 service stations nationwide.
The company reported a 64-percent increase in nine-month net income to P8.2 billion from P4.99 billion in the same period in 2021 on higher sales.
Combined sales volume from Petron’s Philippines and Malaysian operations and the group’s Singapore trading subsidiary grew 37 percent to 80.4 million barrels from 58.8 million barrels in the same period of 2021, reflecting higher fuel demand.
Total sales volume in the Philippines jumped by nearly 30 percent.
Petron reported consolidated revenues of P631.1 billion in the first nine months of 2022, or more than double the P291.6 billion registered a year earlier amid the volume increase.
