Reopening of Batangas-Mla fuel pipeline underway

MANILA, Philippines -  The procedures for the reopening of the Batangas-Manila fuel pipeline of First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) are underway, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said.

Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug Jr. said the Court of Appeals wants to hire an expert that will determine the viability of restarting the operation of the 117-kilometer pipeline.

“[The Court of Appeals] declared they will appoint an amicus curae, a friend of the court, who is an expert to determine if they will allow the reopening of the pipeline among other things, the damages, the entitlements,” Layug said.

However, there is no timeline yet for the appellate court’s plan to hire an expert, he said.

Last month, the Court of Appeals began the hearings for the reopening of FPIC’s pipeline, which ceased operations in October 2010 due to oil that had been leaking into the basement of West Tower Condominium in Brgy. Bangkal, Makati.

In November 2010, the Supreme Court (SC) issued a writ of kalikasan that required FPIC to stop operations.

The DOE, for its part, already appointed an expert that examined the 43-year old pipeline, Layug said.

In December, the DOE said it found no leaks during a pressure-controlled test it conducted in the white oil pipeline.

The DOE supervised the leak test with New Zealand Emiel Verveer as independent observer, and in the presence of the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Geological Sciences, the UP Institute of Civil Engineering and representatives from both FPIC and 22 story West Tower condominium.

In an en banc resolution issued just last November, the SC temporarily lifted the writ of kalikasan to allow for pressurecontrolled leak tests that determined the

structural integrity of the entire pipeline.

Layug said the court proceedings will end in 60 to 90 days. The weekly hearings began last month. Last June, the Supreme Court allowed the Lopez-owned firm to operate its black oil pipeline system, which covers a 105-kilometer stretch from Batangas to Sucat in Parañaque City and transports bunker fuel.

The SC explained that the writ of kalikasan and temporary environmental protection order it issued in 2010 only covered the 117-kilometer white oil pipeline system that covers Batangas to Pandacan terminal in Manila and transports diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and kerosene.

The white oil pipeline helps provide around 60 percent of the fuel supply in Metro Manila through the Pandacan depot, the country’s largest oil depot.