Philippines’ Petron launches construction of 180,000 TPY CME facility

In the Philippines, the Manila Standard newspaper reports Petron—the country’s largest oil refiner—has begun building its 180,000 metric ton per year coconut methyl ester facility co-located at its oil refinery in Bataan. The facility will take two years to build but will help ensure sufficient supplies in order to boost the biodiesel blending mandate to 5% from the current 2%. In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed the refiner to include biofuel production in the company’s incorporation documents to facilitate required permits for the facility’s construction.