Phoenix Petroleum eyes 220 stations by end-2011

Publicly listed Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. opened its 200th station in Quezon City recently in line with its aggressive program expansion.

In a phone interview, Raymond T. Zorrilla, Phoenix Petroleum AVP for external affairs, said the opening of this retail gas station brought to 40 the number of stations that the company constructed this year alone.

At this rate, Phoenix Petroleum is optimistic it will hit its target of having 220 operating stations nationwide by the end of the year, from 161 stations as of the end of last year. Most of the company’s stations are in Mindanao, where it put up its first retail station in 2005.

In 2008, Phoenix opened its first station in Luzon and in the following year, its first in the Visayas.

To support its growing network, the company has put up several depots in Davao City, Davao del Norte, Aklan, Surigao, Zamboanga and Batangas. The 50-million-liter Batangas depot, located at the Phoenix Petroterminal and Industrial Park, is currently the company’s largest fuel storage terminal.

In August this year, Phoenix Petroleum signed a P750-million notes facility agreement to finance the company’s capital expenditure program. BDO Capital and Investment Corp. was the lead arranger of the said facility.

Proceeds of the notes will be used to fund Phoenix Petroleum’s P1.5-billion capital expenditure program for this year, which includes the construction of pumping stations and two fuel storage terminals.