Not to be outdone by emerging independent oil firms, Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refining and marketing company, said it plans to put up more retail stations and to upgrade its refinery.

Petron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramon Ang said that between January 2009 and January 2010, the company opened 200 new service stations across the country. Of the 200 Petron service stations, 84 are located in Luzon, 48 in Visayas and 68 in Mindanao.

Its total service station count of 1,463 makes Petron the largest retail network in the industry, said Ang.

“We have programmed the construction of more service stations over the next few years to strengthen our core business and bring Petron closer to Filipino consumers,” Ang said.

Petron is also looking to improve the power-generating system at its 180,000 barrel-per-day Bataan refinery.

“Our initial studies show that the planned upgrade in our power-generating system will result in cost-savings amounting to around P1 billion annually,” Ang said.

The oil executive added that the planned upgrade will ensure a more reliable and economical power supply at a time when the company is studying the construction of more facilities.