SEAOIL Philippines plans to open over 50 new stations this year to bring the total to 200, the company said yesterday.

It said it opened four stations in Caloocan City, Kawit in Cavite, Bi?an in Laguna, and General Santos City in South Cotabato in the first two months of 2009, adding three more were in the pipeline in Cebu.

?We are aggressively increasing the number of our retail stations as part of the company?s goal to become one of the more competitive players in the market,? Seaoil president and chief executive Glenn Yu said in a statement.

Seaoil now counts 144 stations after it opened 29 more last year. It costs P4 million to P7 million to open a gas station.

For P4 million, a franchisee may open a Seaoil Express Station with initial inventory.

Seaoil was the first to launch ethanol-blended gasoline in all its filling stations, and that was ahead of the passage of the Bio-fuels Law.

The company is now preparing to list its shares at the Stock Exchange to finance its expansion. Alena Mae S. Flores