Petron allots $500M for transfer of Pandacan oil depot

MANILA, Philippines - Leading oil refiner Petron Corp. is allocating $500 million for the transfer of its facilities from Pandacan to another location, a top company official said.

Petron chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said they are now preparing everything for the eventual transfer of their oil storage facility within the next three years.

“We are moving out. We have filed with the Supreme Court last year to say that we are moving out of Pandacan within our promised five-year period,” he said.

“Maybe within the next two to three years time, we can transfer.”

He said the company would comply with the Supreme Court’s order on the relocation of the Pandacan oil depot.

Ang said the $500 million investment would be funded by parent company San Miguel Corp.

He said he expects the two other locators in the Pandacan oil warehouse, Chevron and Pilipinas Shell, to eventually relocate too.

In January this year, Petron signed an agreement to buy 35 percent of Manila North Harbour Port Inc. from Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc.

Petron, Shell and Chevron Philippines jointly operate the Pandacan depot, which has been hounded by health and environmental safety and security issues in recent years.

At present, the Pandacan oil depot supplies around half of the country’s total fuel demand and 100 percent of lubricant requirements, not only those of the transport sector, but also of the industrial sector.

More than 1,800 retail stations in Regions 1 to 4, around 500 of which are in Metro Manila, get their fuel supply from the facility. The depot likewise serves 70 percent of the shipping industry’s fuel needs and 75 percent of aviation fuel requirements.