PNOC to earn P1.3B from sale of Pandacan oil depot

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC stands to earn at least P1.3 billion from the sale of a portion of the Pandacan oil depot. 

The City Government of Manila wants to develop the property into a mixed-use commercial area and PNOC plans to sell or rent out the property once it is vacated, a PNOC source told The STAR. 

The Supreme Court last year ordered oil companies to relocate their Pandacan terminals. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Company and Petron Corp. both have depots in the area while Chevron moved out in June last year. 

PNOC owns the area used by Petron for its depot, approximately 11.8 hectares of the 33-hectare Pandacan facility.

“We own the land on the Petron depot. The size is 11.8 hectares. When they vacate, we will try to rent out or sell,” the source said. 

However, the PNOC source said the corporation’s Board has yet to decide on the matter. 

“The LGU wants mixed use, commercial or residential. The board will decide on this,” the source said. 

The total land value of the PNOC property is P1.3 billion, based on an appraisal three years ago. 

 Petron, the country’s leading oil refining and marketing company, said it is ready to stop its fuel supply operations at the Pandacan terminal following the Supreme Court order last year. 

Petron chairman and CEO Ramon Ang has said the company is committed to cease operation in Pandacan by 2016.

At the same time, he assured the public that the transfer would not adversely affect fuel prices and supply.

He said the company has been preparing for this following a commitment the company made in 2010 with the Manila government and a group of priests led by then Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to draw up a business plan and establish alternative sites for its Pandacan fuel storage operations.

The Supreme Court had recently ruled against Manila City Ordinance 8187, which reclassified Pandacan into a heavy industrial zone. It also affirmed its 2009 decision which upholds the validity of City Ordinance No. 8027, reclassifying the district into a commercial zone.