What it does: Petron Philippines distributes and supplies natural gas, oil, and oil-refining products to nearly 40% of the country’s fuel requirements.
Best known for: Petron Philippines ranks as the country’s biggest oil-refining company with almost 270,000 barrels per day of combined refining capacity.
Staff stats: More than 2,000 employees in the Philippines
Financials: Php286 billion in consolidated revenues for 2020
The good bits: Many employees stay for more than five years at Petron Philippines because of its comprehensive benefits package.
The not-so-good bits: Petron Philippines looks for experienced professionals for most entry-level jobs.
Petron Philippines started in 1933 originally as a 50-50 joint venture company named Stanvac. After several reorganizations, the energy company became known as Petron Corporation in 1988
San Miguel Corporation then acquired a majority stake in Petron Corporation in 2010. The country’s largest conglomerate owns a 68.26% stake in Petron Philippines. By 2012, the oil-refining company ventured into Malaysia as its first international investment.
Petron Philippines eventually commissioned the Refinery Master Plan 2 project in 2018. The company described the US$2 billion development as its ‘biggest and most ambitious investment’.
As of 2020, Petron Philippines’ retail service network encompasses more than 2,000 stations in the country.
The biggest challenge for young new hires at Petron Philippines will depend on their roles. For instance, field engineers tend to become homesick because they are far away from home. Others also experience burnout because of demanding work schedules.
Office-based employees may also deal with the stress of meeting targets (eg sales). Despite the challenges, many insiders stay for more than five years at Petron Philippines. In fact, the company’s median tenure is 5.7 years.
Most employees have worked for several years because of four things: ‘benefits, growth opportunities, prestige, and stability.’
Petron Philippines’ biggest competitors in the oil industry are Chevron Philippines and Pilipinas Shell. Other oil players include Phoenix Petroleum, SeaOil Philippines, and Unioil Petroleum Philippines.
In 2020, Petron Philippines allegedly didn’t comply with a collective bargaining agreement. The Bataan Refiners Union of the Philippines (BRUP) staged a protest as a result.
Petron Philippines disputed the BRUP’s claims, although the company was willing to meet with the union and resolve the issues.
Petron Foundation handles corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects on behalf of Petron Philippines. In 2020, the company concentrated on COVID-19 relief efforts for front liners and afflicted communities. These initiatives consisted of several donations including:
The foundation focuses on several advocacies such as education, environment, health and human services, and livelihood development.
Petron Philippines doesn’t seem to have plenty of career opportunities for fresh grads. Once an opportunity arises, though, they need to prepare for a tedious hiring process.
Selected candidates should brace themselves for a dynamic workplace. They can expect a financially rewarding career at Petron Philippines in exchange for excellent performance.
Petron Philippines follows a straightforward, five-step hiring process: preliminary screening, HR assessment, line interview, medical exams, and a job offer.
The company reviews applicants and evaluates each one’s credentials against the job’s qualifications. Most people send online applications to [email protected]. Some previous candidates said that they also applied through campus recruitment or employee referrals.
Pre-screened candidates attend an initial interview and exam. Applicants may need to ace the interview before the HR representative endorses them to take the test.
Previous applicants said that they had to go through at least two rounds of interviews after passing the HR assessment. Fresh grads should prepare to meet the hiring manager and a department head during this stage.
Petron Philippines may do more than two interview rounds to determine if candidates are a good fit for the role. Most questions during the interview rounds focus on fresh grads’ competency, motivation, and reason for joining the company.
At this point, shortlisted candidates must pass a series of medical tests. It’s safe to assume that applicants got the job when they reach this stage, barring any negative results from the medical tests.
Petron Philippines discusses the benefits and compensation package to candidates after they pass the medical exam. The company usually takes three weeks on average to complete the hiring process.
Insiders said that they earned between Php4,000 and Php6,000 per month as interns at Petron Philippines. Regular employees earn an average annual salary of approximately Php347,000.
Depending on the role and worksite, the company’s benefits package includes free housing for field engineers. Other known benefits include:
Some employees said that the company converts unused vacation leaves into cash. Petron Philippines also provides free medicine and vitamins to its employees.
Petron Philippines seems to hire only experienced professionals for most entry-level roles. Fresh grads with impeccable academic and technical credentials can still join the company as depot engineers, IT specialists, procurement associates.
This role requires a Bachelor’s in Civil, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering. Depot engineers must be licensed professionals as well. They should also be willing to work in provincial areas. New hires lend a hand in ‘supervising and controlling the entire depot operations’.
Petron Philippines might consider fresh grads for this role, even if the company prefers someone with at least three years of professional experience.
Inexperienced graduates of computer science, engineering, and information technology will stand out if they know different SAP modules.
Fresh grads will qualify for this role if they have a bachelor’s degree in any of the following courses:
Procurement associates handle site inspections and other kinds of fieldwork. Someone with extensive exposure in the construction industry and supply chain operations will be an ideal candidate.