THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) is pushing for measures that will support the growth of the country’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector, officials at a forum yesterday said.
Aug 242015
Feb 282014
MANILA, Philippines – Total Corp. on Saturday slashed the prices of its LPG product by P4.50 per kilogram. Effective 6 a.m. Saturday, consumers should expect a P49.50 reduction for a regular 11-kilogram LPG cylinder. Petron has also rolled back the prices of its LPG products. The oil companies said that the price adjustment reflects the drop in international contact prices for the month of March.
Nov 302013
LPG prices to go up December. Workers arrange empty Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanks at a refilling warehouse in Quezon City on Thursday, November 28. LPG prices are expected to go up by P10 per kilo— more than P100 per 11kg tank—starting December due to high winter demand for LPG in other countries. Asti Flores Some retailers of liquified petroleum gas have reportedly raised prices a day before an expected price hike that will increase the average price of an 11-kilogram tank by P143. According to a report by GMA News reporter Micaela Papa aired on “24 Oras” Saturday evening, some retailers are now selling 11-kg. tanks of LPG for around P870 against prevailing prices of approximately P720 to P760 per tank. LPG retailer Grace Tabo said in the report that LPG refiller Republic Gas Corp. (Regasco) has already raised their prices. “Hindi naman nasusunod yung effective December 1 (ang increase). One week ago, nagtaas na sila. Halos araw-araw,” she said. Regasco owner Arnel Ty, who sits at the House of Representative for the LPG Marketers’ Association party-list, said the higher prices may have been caused by an artificial shortage. He said retailers got less than the usual number of LPG tanks because refillers did not get enough LPG from retailers. “Sa amin, tinaasan kami ng mas maaga, pero di naman namin ito maipasa ng ganoon kabilis. Kaya, normally po, ang mga dealer, nakikita nila na nagkakagipitan na sa produkto, nagtataas na po sila ng (presyo ng) kanilang mga produkto,” Read More …
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. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 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 Read More …
Aug 252013
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) said its hands are tied and that it cannot do anything on the plan of Petron Corp. to acquire rival Liquigaz Philippines Corp., a ranking official told The STAR. Zenaida Monsada, director of the energy department’s Oil Industry Management Bureau said the agency has no jurisdiction over mergers and acquisitions even if the companies involved are oil firms. “The DOE cannot do anything about mergers and acquisitions. We only have jurisdiction on the initial public offering (IPO) requirement of refiners,” she said, referring to the Oil Industry Deregulation Law of 1998, which requires oil refiners to offer shares to the public. She said it was up to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to police corporations such as Petron regarding their acquisition activities if it deems necessary. Furthermore, she said Congress can also pass a measure that would put safeguards against monopolies. Petron is in the process of acquiring Liquigaz, a wholly-owned Philippine subsidiary of SHV Energy of the Netherlands. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Rep. Arnel Ty of the LPG Marketers’ Association has raised concerns that once Petron completes negotiations for the acquisition of Liquigaz, it may control the LPG industry with a 75-percent share. Ty said Petron has given SHV a non-binding offer of $60 million for Liquigaz’s LPG business, a statement that Petron neither confirmed nor denied. “The company confirms that it is participating in the proposed acquisition of the operations of Liquigaz, a wholly-owned Read More …
Jul 232013
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 …
Jun 142013
The supplier of the liquefied petroleum gas to Two Serendra has claimed that the LPG it provided the condo complex had an additive meant to give the gas a distinct odor. “We do inject a chemical additive called ethyl mercaptan in what we supply,” Roberto Kanapi, vice president for communication of Pilipinas Shell, told GMA News Online. He added that, “We even inject more than what is required by ASTM (American Society for Testing Material).” Investigators have been trying to determine why the tenant of the condo unit which got blown away in a powerful blast at Two Serendra on May 31 did not notice any smell that would have served as a sign that LPG was leaking in the supply pipes. Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC), the main developer of 240-hectare Bonifacio Global City, chose Pilipinas Shell as its joint venture partner with Bonifacio Gas Corporation in the supply and building of piped gas installations in the development. Bonifacio Gas, incorporated on November 12, 1998, was formed to build and operate an underground pipeline network that will provide a centralized gas distribution system within the Bonifacio Global City. FBDC is backed by the Bases Conversion Development Authority, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and Evergreen Holdings Inc. of the Campos Group. On June 7, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas II said a gas leak, not a bomb, was the most likely cause of the May 31 explosion, which left three people dead and six others injured. The DILG order prompted ALI to Read More …
Jun 052013
Probers looking at gas leak as cause of Two Serendra blast. In this photo taken on Sunday, June 2 and released to GMA News on Tuesday, June 4, debris litter the area surrounding Unit 501-B of Two Serendra at the Global City in Taguig. A huge blast which probers said could have been caused by a gas leak in Unit 501-B on Friday, May 31, blew away a concrete slab which landed on a delivery van, killing the driver and his two helpers. GMA News/HO The May 31 explosion at the Two Serendra condominium complex damaged not just Unit 501-B. Investigators have learned that Building B of the complex sustained extensive damage from the ground floor to the eighth floor as their probe now focuses on the angle that some sort of problem in the centralized liquefied petroleum gas piping system may have caused the explosion that killed three people. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas met with the investigators from various agencies and groups Wednesday, but he did not speak to media about what that meeting took up. As this developed, initial information originating from the occupant of Unit 501-B indicate that the victim did not smell any gas while he was at the doorway of the condo unit when the explosion happened. In an interview with GMA News, Atty. Raymund Fortun, legal counsel of the victim and unit occupant of 501-B Angelito San Juan, said San Juan did not smell any gas at 501-B. Fortun said San Juan felt Read More …
Feb 202013
An international study on entrepreneurship revealed that 70 percent of SME business startups in the Philippines are started by women. This strong number is giving us the impression that women are more entrepreneurial. To sustain this, we at Go Negosyo continue to encourage our Filipinas to take the entrepreneurial route, and eventually create a nation of entrepreneurs that will finally end the evil spell of misery of poverty that has been with us for quite sometime. On March 1, Go Negosyo will mount the 15th Filipina Entrepreneurship Summit at the World Trade Center Manila. In keeping with tradition, Go Negosyo has selected a pool of women entrepreneurs and enablers to recognize their valuable contributions in their respective fields, as well as to promote their stories to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs that they can also make it in life. The two Go Negosyo Women Entrepreneur Icons and the 11 Filipina Entrepreneurs of 2013 came from diverse backgrounds such as education, retail, agriculture, fashion, and medicine, and this shows us that Filipinas can actually carry their multiple burdens and succeed in their chosen fields. Let me share the stories of the inspiring women awardees that we will be recognizing next week. One of Go Negosyo’s Women Entrepreneur Icons is Dr. Helena Z. Benitez of the Philippine Women University. She is probably the oldest active woman enabler in the country because despite being nearly 99 years old, she remains as PWU chairperson. Her life has been a constant source of inspiration for many women Read More …