Subic opens doors to Eastern Petroleum

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has opened its doors to oil player Eastern Petroleum Corp., which expects to complete its P50-million Subic Megastation this June. Once completed, the Subic Megastation will stand as the biggest retail station in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Eastern Petroleum chairman and CEO Fernando Martinez said over the weekend. Describing the development as delayed by a year, Eastern Petroleum had earlier accused and filed a complaint with the Energy Department against Petron Corp. for allegedly blocking its megastation’s construction. Martinez said Petron based its move on the supposed violation of an “800-meter exclusivity contract" between SBMA and Petron. While welcoming the entry of Eastern Petroleum, Petron has stood firm in its position on the 800-meter provision that prohibits the construction of a similar business within that radius. “Subic has a large area beyond the 800-meter radius of our station which other oil companies can avail of as many of our competitors have already done in the past," Petron public affairs head Charmaine Canillas had earlier said. On the back of a projected P5 billion in gross sales, Eastern Petroleum targets a net income of P100 million for 2011. — PE/VS, GMA News