“Big 3” oil companies continue to dominate Philippine fuel market, but Phoenix Petroleum close behind

Petron Corporation continues to lead the Philippine fuel market, with a 27.08% market share, according to the latest data from the Philippine Department of Energy. In second place is Pilipinas Shell, with 18.50%, followed by Chevron Philippines, with 7.82%. Close behind Chevron Philippines is Phoenix Petroleum, with a 7.08% market share. In fourth and fifth place are Seaoil, with 4.48%, and Unioil, with 3.08%.

Overall, the so-called “Big 3” oil companies represent more than half (53.44%), whereas the independents represent about a third (38.17%), of the Philippine market. But independent player Phoenix Petroleum is trailing closely behind Chevron Philippines based on data collected and reported by the DOE for the first six months of 2018.

The DOE further noted that local oil refiners Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell represented 45.58% of the total market, while fuel importers and end-users represented more than half (54.42%) of the market.

Chevron Philippines, formerly Caltex Philippines, closed its 72,000 barrel-per-day refinery in 2003, converting it into a finished product import terminal. The 49-year old refinery in San Pascual, Batangas, was no longer competitive, according to the company, and was re-purposed into an import terminal with a storage capacity of 2.7 million barrels. At the time, Caltex Philippines had an estimated 20% market share.