in Limay, Bataan, is the sole operating integrated oil refinery and petrochemical plant in the Philippines.|left in
Makati,
Philippines, was Petron's headquarters from 1998 to 2010.|leftPetron's history dates back to September 7, 1933, when
Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (Standard Oil of New York) and
Standard Oil of New Jersey (also known as Jersey Standard) merged their interests in the
Far East into a 50–50 joint venture named the
Standard Vacuum Oil Company (Stanvac). It operated in 50 countries, including the Philippines,
New Zealand,
China, and the region of
East Africa. In 1953, the
Philippine national government, partly to promote
Claro M. Recto's national
industrialization program and partly to respond to increasing international oil prices, attempted to launch a national oil company that caters Filipino consumers with affordable petroleum products. In 1957, Stanvac won the concession to build and operate a refinery in Bataan. For this purpose, FilOil Refinery Corporation was established in 1959. In 1962, due to an
antitrust suit, Stanvac was dissolved and the marketing and refining interests were divided between the former partners.
Eastern Standard Esso took over Stanvac's Philippine operations, including FilOil Refinery Corporation. Subsequently,
Mobil (successor of Socony-Vacuum Oil Company) also sold its share in FilOil Refinery Corporation to PNOC. The oil refining and marketing units in PNOC, including FilOil Refinery Corporation, were merged into Petrophil Corporation. In 1988, Petrophil Corporation was renamed
Petron Corporation. As part of the government's privatization program under President
Fidel V. Ramos, PNOC sought a strategic partner that would give Petron a reliable supply of oil, plus access to state-of-the-art refining technology. The result was a partnership with the world's largest oil producer,
Saudi Aramco. On February 3, 1994, PNOC and Aramco Overseas
Co. B.V. signed a share purchase agreement that gave both an equal 40% stake in Petron Corporation. The remaining 20% of Petron shares were sold to the public. On August 11, 2006, a Petron
oil tanker Solar 1, carrying
fuel oil sank, causing the
Guimaras oil spill, the biggest
oil spill in Philippine history. In 2008, Saudi Aramco sold its entire stake to the
Ashmore Group, a London-listed investment group. Ashmore acquired an additional 11% when it made a required tender offer to other shareholders. By July 2008, Ashmore, through its SEA Refinery Holdings B.V., had a 50.57 percent of Petron's stock. Ashmore's payment was made in December 2008. In December 2008, Ashmore acquired PNOC's 40% stake. In the same month,
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) said it was in the final stages of negotiations with the Ashmore Group to buy up to 50.1 percent of Petron. In 2010, SMC acquired majority control of Petron Corporation. In January 2013, Petron officially opened their Malaysian operations, rebranding all Esso and Mobil stations across
Peninsular Malaysia. On November 9, 2021, SMC CEO
Ramon Ang offered to sell Petron back to the government in response to calls for re-nationalization due to rising fuel costs. Over four years later as part of the fallout of the
2026 Iran war, he reiterated such offer. ==Products and services==