Shell completes Bataan refinery upgrade

MANILA, Philippines - Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. has completed this month the upgrade of its refinery in Batangas, one of the company’s investments in the country programmed prior to its initial public offering (IPO).

Shell country chairman and president Edgar Chua said the refinery upgrade was completed last Dec. 4.

“It was finished last Dec. 4 but we’re still observing its operations,” he said.

Chua earlier said the refinery upgrade would allow Shell to locally produce a full-range of products compliant with global Euro 4 fuel standards.

Shell’s refinery in Tabangao, Batangas is now producing 110,000 barrels of Euro IV compliant fuel per day, ahead of the Jan. 1, 2016 deadline imposed by the Energy department on oil companies to comply with global standards.

The Euro IV standard is a globally accepted European emission standard for vehicles. The standards require fuel to have significantly low amounts of sulfur and benzene.

Prior to the deadline, the local unit of energy giant Royal Dutch Shell used to import Euro IV fuel products from its facilities overseas.

The refinery upgrade is among Shell’s projects that would pave way for its listing at the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE).

The other projects include the P1-billion second phase and third phase of the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project completed last October and the P6-billion import terminal in Cagayan de Oro scheduled for completion by yearend.