Petron Corp, the largest oil refiner and fuel retailer in the Philippines, said it had temporarily halted production at its 180,000-bpd Bataan refinery on Luzon island as the COVID-19 pandemic hurts worldwide fuel demand. The company said it had shut the refinery since May 5 for maintenance activity at its main processing units.
Petron added that the turnaround would ease the impact of weak fuel demand and poor refining margins amid the health crisis. It also said that its fuel inventory, including imported refined products, would be sufficient to meet domestic market requirements. Petron registered a net loss of 4.9 billion pesos ($97 million) in the January-March quarter due to demand and price fall. A year ago, the company posted a net income of 1.3 billion pesos.
Petron is a unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp, which operates 30 terminals and more than 2,400 stations in the Philippines. It supplies almost 30% of the country’s petroleum needs. In mid-May, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp also took its 110,000-bpd refinery in Tabangao offline for a turnaround that will last for about a month.
