Petron inks deal with Malaysian Airlines

MANILA, Philippines - Oil industry giant Petron Corp. has bagged a contract to supply aviation fuel to Malaysia Airlines (MAS), its second contract after signing a same deal with AirPhil Express in Malaysia.

Petron Malaysia, formerly Esso Malaysia Bhd, secured an exclusive six-month supply contract to fuel MAS’ brand-new A380 fleet, the company said in a statement.

“Petron is proud and honored to partner with MAS, which is now one of the world’s few elite airlines operating the Airbus A380,” said Petron chairman and chief executive Ramon S. Ang said.

Petron Malaysia Aviation fueled the first MAS A380 flight on June 5. The plane arrived from France carrying 454 passengers including former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed.

“Moving forward, we hope that this partnership will continue to grow and provide more innovations to benefit more travelers,” Ang said.

In April, Petron Oil & Gas International Sdn Bhd completed its $577.3-million acquisition of Esso Malaysia, ExxonMobil Malaysia Sdn Bhd and ExxonMobil Borneo Sdn Bhd from American oil and gas giant ExxonMobil Corp.

Petron Malaysia has supplied aviation fuel to both commercial and freight carriers in the region for almost five decades. Aside from MAS, it caters to the demands of Singapore Airlines, Saudi Air and Royal Jordanian, among others.

Petron recently started servicing the fuel needs of AirPhil Express in Malaysia.

In the Philippines, Petron is one of the top suppliers of aviation fuel to sister firm and flag carrier Philippine Airlines.

Last month, the company opened its first Petron-branded service stations in eight locations in Malaysia.

“The opening of these service stations is part of the company’s rebranding program aimed at converting about 560 Esso and Mobil stations to the Petron brand over the next few years,” the oil firm said.

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) owns 68 percent of Petron, the Philippines’ largest oil refining and marketing company with crude distillation capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and over 1,700 service stations.

SMC, in the last few years, has diversified its core portfolio of food, beverage and packing by expanding its participation in industries such as petroleum, power generation and distribution, mining and infrastructure.