Petron to ink deals with Asian energy companies

Publicly-listed Petron Corp. expects to sign term contracts with a number of Asia-based energy firms in the first quarter of 2002, a ranking company official said.

In an interview over the weekend, Petron president and chief executive officer Motassim A. Al-Ma’ ashouq said the signing of such contracts is part of the company’s efforts to diversify its market in the region.

Ma’ashouq said this move is also part of their initiative to enhance their export business to compliment the company’s local operations.

According to the Petron official, the full commercial operations of the Malampaya natural gas project in the first quarter of 2002 would impact on the operations of local oil firms next year.

He said the development of natural gas will result in a lower demand for fuel oil, which is one of the objectives of the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE is promoting the use of indigenous sources of energy such as geothermal, hydro, coal and wind.

"With the entry of Malampaya in the fourth quarter of this year, we expect that there would be another significant reduction in oil consumed in the power sector, especially in Luzon," he said.

He said the oil companies should diversify their operations to be able to cope with the entry of natural gas in the industry.

"While this is a very healthy development for the country’s energy sector, we in Petron have been planning for this scenario. We try to diversify our fuel oil sales from local to the exports markets," he said.

The Petron executive said they expect to decide and finalize the deal with their regional counterparts in February or March next year. Apart from their traditional exports of naphtha and mixed xylene, Ma’ashouq said they would explore the possibility of exporting fuel oil products. — Donnabelle Gatdula