Petron opens first fuel additive blending plant in Asia Pacific

Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refiner, will inaugurate today the first fuel additives blending plant in the Asia-Pacific region at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The new blending plant will enable Petron to develop non-traditional revenue streams and expand its overseas market.  

The plant has the capacity to blend 12,000 metric tons of fuel additives per year. When used in gasoline, diesel or fuel oil, fuel additives improve efficiency, boost engine performance and benefit the environment by reducing harmful emissions. 

The facility was built in partnership with Innospec, a leading global fuel additives supplier.

In line with an agreement signed in 2006, Petron constructed and will operate the plant to serve the requirements of Innospec’s customers in the region, including those of Petron. Traditionally, Innospec products marketed in Asia are sourced from Europe.

Roughly 80 percent of the facility’s production will be exported to the Asia-Pacific region while the rest will be exclusively used by Petron for its world-class fuels — Blaze, XCS, Xtra Unleaded, E10 Premium and DieselMax.

“This project combines Petron’s first-rate technical services, marketing capability, and strategic location with Innospec’s fuel additive technologies and strong presence in Asia,” Petron chairman and CEO Nicasio I. Alcantara said.

“The demand for fuel additives in other Asian countries is projected to remain high, and we expect to generate additional revenues from this,” he added.

Based on the arrangement, Petron will render technical support services to Innospec in the region and participate in the marketing of fuel additives in selected markets.

The company also plans to tap the customer base of Innospec for Petron-branded lubricants.

Innospec already serves power plants, refiners and manufacturers throughout the region, many of whom are also users of lubricants. Petron-branded lubricants such as Ultron and Rev-X are already being sold in Cambodia and Indonesia. 

Petron and Innospec have been fuel technology partners since 1995. This partnership has produced premium fuel products. Beyond this partnership, Innospec chose Petron for its strong technical capability in blending and quality control, customer service and proven integrity when it comes to safeguarding Innospec’s proprietary formulations. 

In April this year, Petron also commissioned the country’s first petrochemical feedstock units – the Petro Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (PetroFCC) unit and a Propylene Recovery Unit (PRU) – at its 180,000 barrel-per-day Bataan refinery.

The PetroFCC, the first “cracking” unit of its kind in the world, converts black products (fuel oil) into higher value LPG, gasoline, and diesel. More importantly, it yields a higher level of the petrochemical feedstock propylene than typical FCC units.