Phoenix emerges as third-largest oil player

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines, Inc. cornered more fuel demand in the country, placing itself now among the three biggest Philippine oil industry players.

The Dennis A. Uy-led independent oil company came in third among all domestic fuel retailers, replacing the spot traditionally held by Chevron Philippines, Inc. for years, according to the latest Department of Energy (DoE) report.

Phoenix climbed one notch from the fourth place last year as it captured 6.86% of the demand in the petroleum market.

Ramon S. Ang-led Petron Corp. remains the largest oil company in the country with a 24.88% market share, while Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. comes second with an 18.25% share.

Together, the top three firms serviced 49.25% of the fuel market, while the rest were supplied by independent retailers and direct importers.

Chevron slid to fifth place with a 6.13% share, just behind Unioil Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which controlled 6.48% of the market.

Phoenix was able to cut its net loss in the second quarter to P5 million from P386 million previously. It claimed the company was on its way to profitability in the succeeding quarters.

“We are confident and hopeful that the worst is behind us,” Phoenix President Henry Albert R. Fadullon said in a statement in August.

The country’s total petroleum demand dropped by 22.8% to 10.794 billion liters in the six months to June, “attributed to reduced economic activity due to lockdown and travel restrictions because of the pandemic,” the department’s Oil Industry Management Bureau said.

About a quarter of the fuel products in the market are consumed in Metro Manila, followed by north and south Luzon regions. Mindanao accounted for 15.23% of the demand, while the Visayas took up 14.18%.

Meanwhile, the petroleum import volume in the first six months of 2020 fell by 35.4% to 5.954 billion liters. Imported products comprised more than half, or 55.2%, of the country’s total fuel demand. — Adam J. Ang