GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Ramon Ang ready to sell Petron to gov't amid oil price shocks
Business tycoon Ramon Ang on Friday said his company, Petron Corporation —the country’s largest oil refiner and retailer— will cooperate with the government in its efforts to ease the public’s burden due to the global oil price shock.
Ang even expressed willingness to sell the fuel firm to the state.
WATCH: Petron Chairman Ramon Ang: I promise the public, we will not take advantage of this fuel crisis. | via @Ted_Cordero
— GMA Integrated News (@gmanews) March 27, 2026
Video courtesy of MPC Pool pic.twitter.com/lpARXSGyaQ
“I promise the public, we will not take advantage of this fuel crisis. Di kami kikita ng mahigit pa sa normal and I’m willing even to lower the income. Balewala ‘yun sakin —‘yung income,” Ang, the chairman, president and CEO of Petron, told reporters at the sidelines of the opening of the NAIA Expressway Phase II.
(We won't earn more than normal and I'm even willing to lower our income. I don't care about that.)
“Sabi ko nga eh, kung gusto ng gobyerno pwedeng ngang bilhin ng gobyerno ang Petron sakin eh. Kung sa tingin nila mas magaling sila magpatakbo ‘diba. In short, you have my 100% cooperation na tutulungan ‘yung mga kababayan natin,” he said.
(I already said, if the government wants, the government can buy Petron from me. If they think they can run it better, right? In short, you have my 100% cooperation to help our countrymen.)
In a separate statement, Ang said his offer to sell Petron back to the government, first made to Congress in 2021, “remains open.”
This comes as the country navigates a national energy emergency amid the Middle East crisis, with some lawmakers once again exploring the possibility of returning the country’s only oil refinery to state hands.
“If the government believes that Petron under its ownership will better serve the Filipino people especially in times like these, we are ready to sit down and make it happen,” Ang said.
Fair market value, structured
The Petron chairman said the sale of the oil refiner and retail giant to the state could be structured in tranches at fair market valuation “so the government would not need to shoulder a lump-sum payment during a difficult fiscal period.”
“We have never treated Petron as simply a profit center. We lost over P11 billion in 2020. We invested $2 billion to upgrade the Bataan refinery and kept it running even when it would have been easier to just import finished fuel, the way other oil companies chose to do. We did that because the country needs its own refining capacity. That has always been our reason,” Ang said.
“This is not about who owns Petron. This is about what is best for the country,” he said.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin earlier said that it is not a good idea for the government to temporarily take over the operations of oil companies in the country, saying the government lacks the capacity to run about 14,000 fuel stations across the country.
The Petron chairman, meanwhile, said that it is important for the country to continuously import crude oil since buying finished products is more difficult during times of crisis or conflicts in the petroleum-producing Middle East.
Ang explained that the “premium” is lower at 10-20% when importing crude compared to importing refined products—gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and jet fuel—which could go as high as 40% to 50% during supply constraints.
"Premium" refers to the additional cost in importing crude oil or its refined products, reflecting costs arising from freight, insurance, and regional price differentials.
“Kaya napakaimportante na makaimport tayo ng crude oil para sa ganun ay tuloy-tuloy ang supply,” Ang said.
(That’s why it is important for us to import crude oil continuously.)
The Philippines has purchased two of Russia's far-eastern ESPO Blend cargoes of some 1.5 million barrels of crude oil, according to data from financial analytics firm LSEG.
Ang underscored the significance of Petron’s Bataan refinery —processing about 180,000 barrels per day and supplying roughly a third of national fuel demand— to the country’s energy security, which has grown further amid the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz and record-high fuel prices. —VAL/AOL, GMA Integrated News
