Nine groups eye Napocor’s fuel supply contracts

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) expects nine oil companies to participate in tomorrow’s bidding for contracts to supply the power firm’s fuel requirements for one year.

The list includes the three major oil companies — Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Caltex Philippines Inc. — and six new players, namely Total Petroleum Corp., Oilink International Corp., the trading arm of Unioil Petroleum Corp., Subic Bay Distribution Inc., A Brown Energy, Eastern Petroleum Corp., and Seaoil Petroleum Corp.

A. Brown Energy, an affiliate of manufacturing firm A. Brown Co. Inc., is a new entry to the bidding group, according to the Napocor officials. Last January, A. Brown formed a joint venture with Tracer Petroleum Corp. of Canada to sell crude oil and petroleum products in the Philippines, Southeast Asia and Austalia.

Napocor officials said 14 firms were accredited to participate in the bidding, but only nine were able to buy tender documents.

The state-owned power firm’s fuel division estimated that fuel demand for the period April 1, 2001 to March 2001 will amount to P10.23 billion, higher than the P7-billion fuel requirement last year.

Napocor’s fuel requirements for the supply period April 1, 2001 to March 2002 of 1,243,401 liters is higher than the 1,171,518 Kliters requirement level in the period March 2000 to April 2001. Of the 1,243,401 Kliters requirement about 1,017,189 would be for fuel worth P7.61 billion and the remaining 226,212 Kliters would be for diesel fuel worth P2.62 billion. – Donnabelle Gatdula