Petron Corporation (PCOR) was incorporated in 1966 as Esso Philippines, Inc. and later renamed to Petrophil Corporation when the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) acquired Esso. In 1985, Petrophil Corporation and Bataan Refinery Corporation (formerly Standard Vacuum Refining Corporation) were merged, with Petrophil as the surviving corporation. Petrophil later changed its corporate name to Petron Corporation. On March 4, 1994, PNOC sold 40% of its shares in PCOR to Aramco Overseas Company B.V. (AOC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). PCOR's principal business involves the refining of crude oil and the marketing and distribution of refined petroleum products, mainly for the domestic market. The company sells a full range of refined petroleum products, including industrial fuel oil, diesel, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), jet fuel, kerosene, asphalt, solvent and mixed xylene and propylene. Straight-run fuel oil, diesel, and mixed xylene and propylene are exported while lubricating oils and greases are manufactured at PCOR's Lube Oil Blending Plant at the Pandacan Terminal. When necessary, some refined petroleum products are imported. On March 13, 2008, AOC entered into a share purchase agreement with Ashmore Investment Management Limited. SEA Refinery Holdings B.V. (SEA BV), a company incorporated in the Netherlands and owned by funds managed by the Ashmore Group acquired Saudi Aramco's 40% interest in PCOR in July 2008. On October 6, 2008, PNOC informed SEA BV and PCOR of its intent to dispose its 40% stake in the company. In December 2008, the 40% interest of PNOC in PCOR was finally purchased by SEA Refinery Corporation (SRC), a domestic corporation wholly-owned by SEA BV. In a related development, SEA BV sold a portion of its interest in PCOR equivalent to 10.1% of the issued shares to SRC. As of December 31, 2008, SEA BV is PCOR's parent company. On December 24, 2008, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and SEA BV entered into an option agreement granting SMC the option to buy the entire ownership interest of SEA BV in its local subsidiary SRC. The option may be exercised by SMC within a period of two years from December 24, 2008. At present, PCOR has six subsidiaries, namely, New Ventures Realty Corporation, Petrogen Insurance Corporation, Overseas Insurance Corporation, Ltd., Petron Foundation, Inc., Petron Freeport Corporation, and Petron Marketing Corporation. Source: SEC Form 17-A (2008)