Petron Corporation clarified on Monday that its 180,000-barrel per day refinery in Limay, Bataan will undergo repairs and checks following its shutdown this January.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the oil giant said that its refinery, the country’s only remaining one, “will be on economic plant shutdown beginning the second half of January 2021.”
“During this economic shutdown, the Company will conduct maintenance activities on key process units,” the disclosure further read.
Petron President and CEO Ramon Ang announced the closure of the Bataan refinery last week after the company’s appeals to the government to address its taxation concerns fell on deaf ears. Ang said, however, said that the refinery would resume commercial operations should economic conditions improve.
Back in October, Ang had warned of closing the country’s largest refinery “very soon” over what he believes are unfair tax policies, specifically the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.
Several workers, meanwhile, have appealed to Limay town officials to help reclassify the refinery as part of the Freeport Area of Bataan, which enjoys tax incentives. Petron hires some 3,500 people directly and indirectly to work in the facility.
Photo from Oil&Gas Journal/Petron.