Big 3 oil firms’ market share continue to shrink last year

MANILA, Philippines — Major oil companies continue to lose market share in 2017 on tighter competition and aggressive expansion program of smaller players, the latest Oil Supply/Demand Report of the Department of Energy (DOE) showed.

The three major oil players – Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Philippines – cornered 54.6 percent of total demand as of end-2017, while other firms captured 36.8 percent of the market.

In 2016, the so-called Big 3 accounted for 57.8 percent of the market, while the rest made up the remaining 34.2 percent.

Other oil players include PTT Philippine Corp. (PTTPC), Total Philippines, Seaoil Corp., TWA, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., Liquigaz, Petronas, Prycegas, Micro Dragon, Unioil, Isla LPG Corp., Jetti, Eastern Petroleum Corp., Perdido, SL Harbour, Filoil Energy Co., Petrotrade Philippines Inc., Marubeni, JS Union, JS Philippines Corp. and South Pacific.

Meanwhile, the balance of 8.6 percent are from end-users who imported directly most of their requirement, the DOE data showed.

Petron maintained its lead with a 27.62 percent market share, followed by Shell with 19.98 percent and Chevron with seven percent.

Petron breached the 3,000 service station count during the year and also broke its record of 105.7 million barrels sold in 2016 after sales volume grew to 107.8 million in 2017.

Meanwhile, Shell opened 66 new retail stations, closing the year with a total of 1,044 retail stations.

Closing in at fourth is Phoenix with 6.2 percent and Seaoil at fifth with 5.2 percent.

Phoenix cemented its position as the country’s leading independent oil company and emerging major as it increased its market share from 5.7 percent the previous year.

The DOE data also showed Phoenix improving the most in market share among the top four players, reinforcing its reputation as the fastest-growing oil company in the country.