Petron looks to offer pre-paid cards

Petron Corporation, the Philippines largest oil refiner is studying the possibility of offering pre-paid gasoline cards to help customers cushion the impact of high fuel prices in the world market. Pre-paid cards are widely used in the Philippines for cellular phones and cable TV subscriptions. Earlier, an independent oil firm, Seaoil, has made a similar move. In related news, Petron launched its E10 premium products on June 16, ahead of the implementation of the Biofuels Law of 2006 which mandates a 5% ethanol blend in gasoline by 2009 and a 10% blend by 2011. E10 is sold Php2 (US$0.04) per liter less than regular gasoline. Nicasio Alcantara, Petron chairman, said the company initially will source ethanol from Brazil since San Carlos Bio Energy, which has an exclusive supply contract with Petron for 10 years, is yet to start production by year end. “The early production of Petron E10 premium ahead of the government’s mandate is part of our efforts to promote the use of environment-friendly alternative fuels that can be produced locally,” he said. (June 20, 2008)