Pascal Resources Energy Inc., the company behind Gaz Lite, said it will invest P800 million to put up two more liquefied petroleum gas plants in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Pascal chairman Nelson Par said the company would acquire a property in Iloilo and another in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, utilizing the same business model it employed when it started the company’s first plant in Lubao, Pampanga.
“We will need the support of banks for this expansion. There is a growing demand for more sustainable energy source for cooking needs in the country. Gaz Lite is proven to be energy-efficient compared to butane with savings of at least 30 percent for the user,” Par said in a news briefing Monday.
A 330-gram Gaz Lite canister can last for about three to five days of cooking while a refill costs P65 per canister. This is lower compared to butane’s P75 refill for 250-gram one-time-use canister.
Par said the company was targeting the 60 percent of Philippine population who were still using solid fuel such as wood and charcoal.
He said the planned plants would have the same capacity as that of the Lubao facility which is capable of producing 3 million canisters monthly. Each plant is estimated to cost P400 million, including the cost of property acquisition.
Pascal Energy also plans to register with the Board of Investments for incentives under the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan after the first plant was granted income tax holiday.
Par said that in two years after the company introduced Gaz Lite, sales reached 150,000 units. Pascal Energy is optimistic of selling 6 million units in five years.
Gas Lite, a sustainable energy product, is the world’s first refillable aluminum canister that can be re-used for as many as 80 times.
Pascal Energy offered to work with co-industry players Petron Corp. and Solane Gas to combine their resources and come up with a white branded LPG product to reach out to as many Filipinos.
Pascal also intends to offer the products to restaurants offering grilled meat.
The company has 12 regional distributors with 500 sari-sari stores acting as retail agents.
