THE PLANNED national fuel stockpiling system will not burden the national government in terms of financing as this will be shouldered by the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) and other investors, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Monday, June 1.
She said the plan would allow the government to have at least 30 days of fuel reserves on top of what the private sector have, to address impact of supply disruptions.
The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) will conduct a feasibility study with the help of the Japanese government, which is expected to send representatives to the Philippines in the next few months.
“There are certain objectives that we are trying to reach, but the primary purpose is to add more to the 60 days stockpiling of private companies or the 30 days. It could be 30 to 60 days, depending on the resources of our private companies,” she said.
Garin said officials from the MIC and the PNOC are drafting the rules on the roles of each agencies, and the final document will be out within this month.
The investment depends on the result of the feasibility study and the facility is expected to be finished for about a year – from study, permitting and construction.
Garin declined to give any figure for the possible investment, but said a tank that can accommodate around 500,000 million barrels of oil is around P5 billion.
She said this would allow the government to have its own stockpiling facility, since what it is currently utilizing are the facilities of private oil firms. (PNA)
