MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ lone oil refinery is seen coming back online in the second quarter, a welcome sign that businesses are pricing in economic recovery that inevitably brings with it fuel demand. At the height of lockdowns in August last year, Shell announced shutting down its Tabangao refinery plant that generates 110,000 barrels of oil a day, prompting fears that Petron is about to follow suit. The refinery did halt operations temporarily in January for maintenance, and amid lackluster oil demand at the time. Full-year losses were nonetheless narrower than in the first three quarters as fuel demand slowly rebounded in the final 3 months of 2020. For this year, apart from a possible recovery, a recent surge in global oil prices is likewise working on Petron’s favor.

Source: Philippine Star March 10, 2021 04:30 UTC