Petron completes $2-B refinery upgrade

Petron Corp., the Philippines’ top oil refiner, has completed its biggest project yet —the $2-billion Refinery Master Plan 2 (RMP-2).

Company chair and CEO Ramon S. Ang said this would result in increased revenue for Petron and more fuel supply for the domestic market.

The oil refining and marketing company reported over the weekend that it had “oiled in” one of RMP-2’s major units, the Vacuum Pipestill 2 (VPS-2), last Sept. 30 in preparation for full commercial operation in early 2015.

The other processing units of RMP-2 are set for start-up over the next few weeks.

With the upgrade, Petron said it would significantly increase production. Its gasoline production alone is projected to double from the current 18,000 barrels per day to 36,000 barrels per day.

Projects of such magnitude as Petron’s refinery upgrade take about 60 months or five years to complete but the Philippine oil company was able to complete the project in just 44 months from inception to completion, Petron president Lubin B. Nepomuceno said.

“The quick completion of this project is a testament to the professionalism and expertise of the Petron organization,” Nepomuceno said.

The construction phase alone was completed in just 21 months. At its peak, the project employed about 17,000 skilled workers. It was completed with an impeccable safety record of more than 75 million man-hours without lost time incident, the company said.

The upgrade also made Petron’s refinery one of the most advanced facilities in Asia-Pacific in terms of processing and energy efficiency, operational availability, and complexity.

It also allows the Petron Bataan Refinery to maximize production by converting all negative margin fuel oil (currently cheaper than the raw material, crude oil) into high-margin products such as gasoline, diesel, and petrochemicals.

The completion of the project is a game-changer since it will benefit not just Petron but the oil industry and the country as well through increased supply of world-class products, Ang said.

“For Petron, this means increasing our revenues while improving profitability,” Ang said. “With increased production, Petron will enhance the country’s supply security and further lessen its dependence on higher-costing imported fuel products. We will also be the only oil company capable of locally-producing more efficient and environment-friendly fuels that meet or exceed global standards.”