Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC) eyes a rebound in sales volume and return to profitability again next year as it foresees the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

PSPC president Cesar Romero hopes for the fuel volumes to go back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. However, its jet fuels may take up to 2024 to bounce back due to the effect of travel restrictions. 

Romero emphasized, though, that his sales growth target depends on how the economy responds to the government’s health measures during the pandemic. 

Despite the huge impact of the pandemic on the entire oil industry, Romero said PSPC will remain listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange despite having to shut down its Tabangao refinery last year. He added that their principals at Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands still see the Philippines as a very important investment location.

Shell’s optimism towards a rebound is rooted in the fact that the country had been posting strong economic growth figures prior to the pandemic.

Romero said that there will be an opportunity to tap a new very important market with the rise in the purchasing power of Filipino consumers, which would lead to a new level of motorization. 

Being the 13th most populous nation in the globe, the Philippines is expected to register a fuel demand increase due to an forecasted increase in the rate of vehicle ownership. Currently, the country’s vehicle ownership rate is at 11 for every 100 people, but it is expected to match Thailand’s rate at 58 vehicles per 100 of its population. 

Shell, the country’s second-largest oil firm, recently said that it will invest up to Php20 billion in the next five years, to prepare for increasing demand in the domestic market as the economy recovers from the pandemic. 

Before that, it reported a Php16.2 billion net loss in 2020 due to the closure of the Tabangao refinery and the pandemic-induced economic slowdown.