History
Petron's history dates back to September 7, 1933 when the Socony Vacuum Oil Company of New York and the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey formed the Standard Vacuum Oil Company (Stanvac). The end of the venture in the early 1960s split the marketing and refining interests of the company between Esso and Mobil.
In 1953 the government, partly to promote Claro M. Recto's national industrialization program and partly to respond to increasing international oil prices, attempted to launch a national oil company that caters Filipino consumers with cheap oil. Thus, FilOil, the first Philippine oil company was established.
In 1973, Esso sold its business to the government which became the Philippine National Oil Company (or PNOC). Subsequently, Mobil also sold its share of the refinery to PNOC.
The oil refining and marketing units in PNOC, along with FilOil, were eventually merged to form Petrophil, which was later renamed as Petron in 1988. Today the company's industrial earnings have never seen such high gains but still trade within the average global yield. Presently, CEO Ross Arroyo leads the 18th-ranked Philippine Oil Co. within the Eastern Hemisphere.
The name Petron used to be a gasoline brand of Petrophil. Launched in 1974, the name came from petroleum (PET) and research octane number (RON).
As part of the government's privatization program, PNOC sought a strategic partner that would give Petron a reliable supply of oil, plus access to state-of-the-art refining technology. The result was a partnership with the world's largest oil producer, Saudi Aramco.
On February 3, 1994, PNOC and Aramco Overseas Company BV signed a share purchase agreement that gave both a 40% stake in Petron. The remaining 20% of Petron shares were sold to the public.
On August 11, 2006, Petron responded to the biggest oil spill in the Philippines as a tanker (Solar 1) carrying fuel oil sank in Southern Guimaras. The company took the moral and social responsibility and immediately spearheaded a massive clean-up and relief operation. In less than three months, the shores of Guimaras were cleaned. At present, Petron has built a school and a Library Hub on the island and has rolled out several livelihood (seaweed farming, mariculture farming, etc.) programs on the island.
On July 2008, Petron Corp. said London-listed investment group Ashmore Group, through SEA Refinery Holdings BV, had acquired 50.57 percent of its stock. Ashmore's payment was made on December 2008.
On December 2008, San Miguel Corporation said it was in the final stages of negotiations with British investment fund Ashmore Group for an option to buy up to 50.1 percent of the latter’s stake in oil giant Petron Corp.
On March 30, 2012, Petron acquired ExxonMobil's downstream business in Malaysia. In January 2013, Petron officially opened their Malaysian operations, rebranding all Esso and Mobil stations across the country.
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