Oct 192013
 

MANILA, Philippines – Eastern Petroleum aims to capture a huge chunk of the 14 million-tank LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) market in the country as it made its entry into the business, its top official said in a recent interview.

Eastern Petroleum chief executive officer Fernando Martinez said the company will tap 500 dealers for its Eastern Composite (EC) Gas cylinder by 2014.

The oil company launched its LPG cylinder dubbed as EC Gas, an explosion-proof cylinder made from composite materials and which is up to 10 kilogram lighter compared to the average weight of LPG made from steel.

The independent oil firm also launched its 500 New Millionaires program through its dealership network.

“The 500 new millionaires will be made possible with the projected conversion of one million LPG steel tanks to EC Gas,” Martinez said.

He said based on EC Gas’s business model presented during the recently concluded 12th Filipino Franchise Show at the World Trade Center, a dealership could translate to potential earnings of P1 million based on monthly sales of 2,500 cylinders of 11-kilogram LPG in its area.

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Martinez said there are 14 million existing LPG tanks, half of which are either due for requalification, rehabilitation and repair or worse, for outright scrapping.

He said franchise financing is also available in case the applicant is short on working capital and equity to finance the business.

Martinez expressed confidence the company can deliver this goal starting 2014.

This developed as Martinez said the company is already processing 193 franchise applicants for immediate activation by Dec. 21 to be able to service the heavy demand during Christmas.

Jul 232013
 
Eastern Petroleum pours P3 B into LPG business

MANILA, Philippines – Eastern Petroleum Corp. is pouring in P3 billion for its new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, its top official announced yesterday. In a briefing with reporters, Eastern Petroleum chairman and chief executive Fernando Martinez said they would launch the LPG cylinder as EC Gas. He said the company will make the initial P3-billion investment for the first year of operation of its LPG business. Martinez said their LPG container is explosion-proof and made from composite materials up to 10 kilograms lighter compared to the average weight of LPG made from steel. He said the most important feature of the cylinder, supplied by Norway-based Hexagon Ragasco AS, is its ability to withstand explosion even if set on fire.  Ragasco is a leading producer of composite pressure containers. The introduction of Eastern Petroleum’s EC Gas comes after a series of high profile accidents involving LPG, which resulted in serious injuries and deaths. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 According to April 2013 data from the Bureau of Fire Protection, more than 800 LPG-related fires occurred from 2005 up to the first quarter of the year, making it the third leading cause of fire among households. “That’s an average of 100 a year,” Martinez pointed out. He added this makes the use of the 60-year steel container technology an alarming and dangerous practice. Martinez, who is also president of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA), said aside from the high incidence of fire, the steel cylinder Read More …