Ushered in by wider economic reopening post-Covid, the consolidated net income of leading oil firm Petron Corporation climbed 9.0-percent in 2022 to P6.7 billion from a leaner bottom line of P6.1 billion in 2021. The oil firm indicated that it is still “navigating a volatile industry environment,” but the headwinds which precipitated slump in global oil prices at the height of the global health crisis appeared to have already waned. According to the company, its sales from local and international markets had escalated for the past two straight years – rising to 112.81 million barrels in 2022; or a substantial jump of 37-percent from 82.24 million barrels in the prior year.For its Philippine home market, in particular, registered sales hovered at 68.53 million barrels, which manifestly expanded from 47.9 million barrels in 2021. Amid what remains as patchy market fundamentals for oil globally, including the downtrend of prices in the second semester, Petron reported that its operating income last year ended better at  P19.21 billion, topping by 12-percent its P17.21 billion performance on this sphere in the previous year. Dubai crude, as reference pricing for Asian oil markets, plummeted to the level of $77 per barrel on average by December from a higher base of $113 per barrel around June last year. On a full year scale, however, Dubai crude still settled higher at $96 per barrel compared to $69 per barrel average in 2021. “Operating costs were well contained during the period, aided by the continued optimization of the company’s refining assets,” the oil firm stressed. Petron President and CEO Ramon S. Ang enthused “we’ve been consistent in our recovery, with our profits already at pre-pandemic levels over the past two years.” Moving forward, he noted that the company continues “to note an increased and growing demand for our products even as we contend with pricing challenges, heavy competition, and the lingering effects of the pandemic.” Ang thus emphasized that “with our full recovery within our reach, we’ve returned our focus on growing the business and beefing up our operational framework to ensure our continued success and sustainability.” As demand picks up both in the Philippines and its offshore market in Malaysia, Petron qualified that its retail portfolio had likewise been on rebound mode – logging 26-percent growth as the company’s gasoline and diesel products continue to enjoy high customer patronage. It added that combined commercial sales had grown by 30-percent; and that had been mainly propelled by “continued recovery of the industrial and aviation sectors.” Petron similarly specified the remarkable volume sales acceleration for its jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); as well as polypropylene products following the resumption of its production last year.