Thursday, December 22, 2011

News Update Philippines' Petron seeks diesel as demand rises

SINGAPORE, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Philippines' biggest oil
refiner, Petron Corp, has issued a tender seeking up
to 200,000 barrels of diesel for delivery in January as demand
increases during the holiday season, industry sources said on
Thursday.
It is seeking 150,000 to 200,000 barrels of 500 ppm sulphur
diesel for delivery into Bataan over Jan. 5-7. The tender closes
on Dec. 23 and is valid until the same day.
The company last purchased similar volumes of diesel last
month for delivery in December.
"It's the peak season now in the Philippines for diesel with
demand increasing as people return home for the holidays," a
source based in the Philippines said.
Diesel is used mainly as transport fuel in the country, for
buses and taxis.
The tender comes after Seaoil Philippines, the country's
largest independent fuel company, bought 200,000 barrels of 500
ppm sulphur diesel in the spot market this month, a second
source said.
The company has a term contract to purchase diesel and
gasoline, and only appears in the spot market when domestic
demand for the fuels increases, the source added.
(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Sugita Katyal)