Flying V set to open 150 gas stations next year

MANILA, Philippines - Flying V, an independent oil player, is targeting to bring to 500 its number of retail stations nationwide.

Flying V chief operating officer Ramon del Rosario said the oil firm plans to add 150 more stations next year to its network of 350 gasoline outlets nationwide.

For the whole Villavicencio Group of Companies, which would cover all affiliates, the target is to bring its network to 665 stations by the end of 2014, Del Rosario said.

The Villavicencio Group of companies includes affiliates such as: Filoil, FilPrice and Lubewell Oil Corp.

Filoil currently has 100 stations, with 50 new stations to be added in 2014 while FilPride has 12 stations and the plan is to add three new stations to be added in 2014.

Other affiliates such as Lubewell Oil Corp. is the exclusive aircraft refueller in Clark. The group plans to put up two new terminals by end 2014 in Bacolod and Gen. Santos City.

Flying V is also undergoing expansion of its Davao Terminal to increase storage capacity to 60 million liters, making it the largest new oil depot in Mindanao.

With its expansion program, Flying V is targeting P20 billion in revenues in 2014.

In September, the company announced that it has started implementing last week the soon-to-be-mandated higher biodiesel blend of five percent, beating its peers in the petroleum industry.

It launched on August 12 its B5 blend, making it the first oil company to do so.

The higher B5 blend would lead to a 12-percent reduction in emission and 5.9-percent fuel efficiency.

Flying V, which has its own coco-biodiesel plant, hopes its higher B5 blend would also boost the company’s expansion plans.

The Biofuels Acts of 2006 requires a higher biodiesel blend of five percent from the current two percent.

The Department of Energy (DOE) wants to implement the higher biodiesel blend of five percent next year instead of the original 2015 target but big oil firms are saying they are not ready.