PSE Circular for Brokers No. 723-99

April 12, 1999 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 723-99 PRESS STATEMENT April 8, 1999 Petron denies the charges made by Hermito P. Loreto, Head of the Bataan provincial environment and natural resources office, that the company's refinery has been the cause of pollution problems in Bataan Furthermore, sources from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have disclaimed the agency's responsibility for the statements made by Hermito P. Loreto, and stated that the DENR Regional Office is not aware of any environmental problems in the Petron Bataan Refinery. Petron faithfully adheres to the DENR's environmental regulations. Based on weekly tests of the quality of water effluent and seawater, ambient air, and products at the refinery, the level of contaminants in these are well within the limits set by the DENR. In the case of sulfur dioxide emissions, for instance, the ambient air concentration at the refinery is at 0.01 parts per million (ppm) versus the maximum limit set by the DENR of 0.18 ppm. cdlex Furthermore, in anticipation of the tighter specifications on sulfur content in fuels by 2000, Petron has installed a Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU) that will allow Petron to continue to limit sulfur dioxide emissions to the current level. The SRU will recover most of the sulfur removed from products like fuel oil and diesel, and this will be sold in the form of molten sulfur to a chemicals company. Loreto's accusation that Petron violates Coast Guard regulations restricting discharge of ballast to areas beyond 50 nautical miles is similarly unfounded; Petron requires all of its chartered vessels to comply with all applicable Coast Guard and MARINA regulations, particularly those related to marine pollution. And although compliance is the responsibility of the vessel owners, Petron goes beyond the requirement of law by assisting vessels in handling dirty ballast whenever this is operationally feasible. aisadc As for the allegation that Petron-chartered carriers do no comply with the requirement that the vessels should have double hulls and must carry booms, it should be noted that. 1) there is no existing regulation requiring double hulls for the type of vessels that the company charters and 2) Petron's contract with vessel owners requires the vessels to carry booms on board, and the company conducts regular and spot inspection of vessels to ensure compliance. Petron has always been sensitive to the environmental impact of its refinery operations. Through the years, it has implemented many projects designed not only to comply with regulations but to insure minimum damage to the environment. Among these projects are waste water treatment facilities, continuous emission monitoring systems, spent caustic treaters, sludge processing facility, sour water treatment facility, and waterborne oil spill equipment.