MANILA, Philippines - Petron Malaysia Refining and Marketing Bhd is investing $2 billion in the next 10 years to expand its network and strengthen its foothold in the Southeast Asian country, its top official said.

"In the next 10 years, we will put in money and expand," Petron Malaysia chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang told reporters.

He said that Petron's business in Malaysia has been churning in good returns for the company.

"Very stable ang operations ng Petron Malaysia dahil dun sa Malaysia guaranteed return on investment, up or down, nakakatitiyak ka maganda ang return," Ang said.

At present, the company has 560 stations in Malaysia but the number of retail stations is expected to increase with the $2-billion investment, Ang said.

He declined to reveal the number of additional stations.

Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Petron Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur, manufacturers and markets petroleum products. It also operates an oil refinery in Port Dickson.

For the Philippines, Petron Corp. is also on track with its "massive expansion program," Ang said.

"Petron is undergoing massive expansion and modification. We will be finished by end-2014," he said, adding that by the end of next year, Petron would be able to produce Euro IV products.

The Euro IV standard is a globally accepted European emission standard for vehicles. The Euro IV standards require fuel to have significantly low amounts of sulfur and benzene.

Euro IV compliant fuels have a significantly lower sulfur content of 50 ppm (parts per million) compared to the current Philippine standard of 500 ppm.

He said the company, which accounts for at least 34 percent of the market, would be more competitive in the Philippines with its refineryexpansion.

The upgrade of its refinery would allow Petron to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day from an average of 100,000 barrels today.

It would also allow the conversion of 97 percent of crude oil into finished products from the current 67 percent.

By Iris C. Gonzales (The Philippine Star)

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