‘Big 3’ oil firms file petition for TRO on Pandacan depot

The country’s three major oil companies filed yesterday their respective petitions for a temporary restraining order (TRO) with the Manila Regional Trial Court to prevent the Manila city government from enforcing an ordinance that would abruptly shut down the oil terminal in Pandacan by the end of this month.

In a joint press conference, Petron Inc., Caltex Philippines Inc., and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said the legal action was taken specifically in response to the enforcement of the City Ordinance 8027, enacted by the City Council on Nov. 20, 2001, which in effect would convert the existing area from an industrial to a commercial zone.

"We regret having to take this action, but from our perspective, we believe it is the only viable alternative available to us at this time. The developments that took place in these near deadline hours were such that we concluded we had to rapidly react in order to uphold our commitments to our many stakeholders who are relying on us to get their oil products, and in a dependable fashion," Caltex corporate affairs manager Marian Catedral said.

Catedral said about 50 percent of the gasoline and diesel fuels that supply Manila and surrounding provinces are distributed out of the Pandacan terminal, and more than 90 percent of the oil and lubricant products are manufactured inside the terminal grounds.

The oil officials said the decision to file a TRO was consistent with their overall position to protect the interests of its key stakeholders – its customers and the general public’s need for a reliable energy supply.

"We have publicly gone on record that what is at stake here is nothing less than the security and reliability of supply products that would impact all of the Filipino people. We stand behind our commitment now," Shell general manager for external affairs Roberto Kanapi said.

Kanapi said "this is the only window we have. We expect the Manila RTC judge to come up with a decision on the TRO on Tuesday just in time when our business permits would have lapsed on Wednesday. None of us would want to operate illegally."

The Shell official also noted that at best, the Big 3 oil firms can only supply 40 percent of the existing supply needs of Manila Metro and nearby provinces in case the oil terminal is closed down.

The oil firms, Kanapi said, are still committed to complete the phasedown of the Pandacan terminal. "Despite our legal actions, we will still abide with our commitments in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to complete the phasedown of Pandacan," he added.

Petron public affairs manager Virginia Ruivivar, on the other hand, expressed the hope that they could get the support of the Department of Energy (DOE) on this issue.

"The DOE is aware of our moves. They support this because this is the most positive way to approach the problem," Ruivivar said.

According to Ruivivar, the DOE has the ability, for the sake of national interest, to intervene to take over the operation of the oil depot.

The oil firms cited that they have accomplished great progress on meeting the commitments under the MOU.

They said they have ceased operations of the LPG operations in end-February 2003. Some 19 tanks have already been removed, and about 93 percent of the tank dismantling will be completed by end-2003.