Proponents of naphtha plant still want Gokongwei firm to join them

The proponents of the naphtha cracker project have renewed efforts to woo the Gokongwei-owned JG Summit Corp. and even Chinese Petroleum Corp. into joining the consortium that would undertake the $1-billion facility.

According to Antonio Garcia, president of the Asian Petroleum Corp., one of the leading members of the consortium, JG Summit and Chinese Petroleum have been invited into the group.

Naptha is a by-product of oil refining and a naphtha cracker plant converts it into monomers such as ethylene and propylene. These monomers are in turn processed into polymers which are used in various plastic products.

Garcia said negotiations are underway to determine the terms of reference for their entry into the consoirtium, as well as the final equity sharing of the corporate entity that would develop the naphtha cracker.

"Give us two to three more months. By that time we would know who the final participants are," Garcia said.

The negotiations with JG Summit, according to him, focus on the mechanics of participation such as price and delivery fees since JG Summit already has its own petrochemical plant away form the proposed site of the naphtha cracker plant.

Garcia said the apparent hesitation of the Gokongwei company, was not due to a basic disagreement over the need for a cracker or even the proposed location but only due to difficulties in setting the particulars of the consortium itself.

"I think everyone knows that JG Summit’s participation in the consortium would be beneficial to all," Garcia said. "It’s better for efficiency and cost because the bigger the capacity of the cracker, the lower the cost."

At the same time, Garcia said even Chinese Petroleum Corp. has not been ruled out of the consortium despite its earlier decision to withdraw. "Anyone that can make this happen is welcome to join," he said. "We are not shutting our doors on anyone at this point."

CPC’s withdrawal had irritated the Department of Trade and Industry which, along with the Department of Energy, had been spearheading the formation of the consortium along with the Philippine National Oil Co. and its subsidiary, PNOC Petrochemicals.

DTI is critical in the consortium’s request for the continued protection of petrochemical products from imports, especially when the naphtha cracker plant comes on stream to produce monomers that are imported to produce polymers.

Garcia said that despite the change in the economic outlook of the country, the consortium is not seeking additional incentives other than those already agreed upon which include income tax holiday and the extension of tariff protection until 2004.