Petron Corporations over 75 years of existence in the Philippines is a further testament to its commitment to providing quality products and services.
Petron's colorful history dates back to September 7, 1933 when the Socony Vacuum Oil Company of New York and the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey formed the Standard Vacuum Oil Company (Stanvac). The end of the venture in the early 60s split the marketing and refining interests of the company between Esso and Mobil.
In 1973, Esso sold its business to the government which became the Philippine National Oil Company or PNOC. Subsequently, Mobil also sold its share of the refinery to PNOC.
The oil refining and marketing units in PNOC were eventually merged to form Petrophil, which was later renamed as Petron.
As part of the governments privatization program, PNOC sought a strategic partner that would give Petron a reliable supply of oil, plus access to state-of-the-art refining technology. The result was a partnership with the world's largest oil producer, Saudi Aramco.
On February 3, 1994, PNOC and Aramco Overseas Company BV signed a share purchase agreement that gave both a 40% stake in Petron. The remaining 20% of Petron shares were sold to the public.
In May 2008, the Ashmore Group acquired Aramcos 40% stake in Petron. Following a mandatory tender offer, an additional 10.57% was acquired by the London-based fund.
The PNOC likewise sold its share to another Ashmore subsidiary. Such divestment resulted in the Ashmore Group holding approximately 90.57 percent of the outstanding shares of the company.