According to REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8180(AN ACT DEREGULATING THE DOWNSTREAM OIL INDUSTRY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES) ; Downstream oil industry shall refer to the business of importing exporting, re-exporting, shipping, transporting, processing, refining, storing, distribution, marketing and/or selling, crude oil, gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), kerosene, and other petroleum and crude oil products
The Philippines downstream oil industry had been deregulated since1998 and is currently dominated by two (2) major oil refining and marketing companies; Petron and Pilipinas Shell. A third oil refiner and marketer, Caltex Philippines Inc. converted its 86,500 bbl/d refinery into an import terminal in 2003 and now operates as a plain marketing and distributing company under the name “Chevron”, but maintains its Caltex brand. Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), a state-owned company, and Saudi Aramco jointly own Petron; each with a 40 percent stake while the public holds the remaining 20 percent share. Petron operates an 180,000 bbl/d refinery and over 1,200 gasoline stations nationwide; Pilipinas Shell has a 110,000 bbl/d refinery and about 800 gasoline stations; and Caltex/Chevron has 2 import terminals, and around 850 retail gas stations nationwide. Caltex built the first petroleum refinery in 1954. Followed by Stanvac in 1960, with the construction of what is now the biggest oil refinery in the country –the Bataan Refining Corporation. Shell Refinery started operations in July 1962 while a local player, Filoil Refinery, began operations in September 1962. Currently there are 3,472 registered gasoline dispensing stations, 182 LPG refilling plants, 28.30 MB of storage capacity and 16.62 MMB depots (import and export terminals). A 135 km white-oil and 100 km black-oil pipelines are used to transport oil from the refineries in Batangas to Manila and vice versa.
• Regulatory Framework Republic Act No. 8479 which was