Tight LPG supply nationwide to ease up by tomorrow

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – The tight supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) nationwide will ease up by tomorrow, according to the LPG Refillers Association of the Philippines Inc.  

LPG-RAP president Bernardo Bolisay said three ships loaded with some 7,500 metric tons of cooking gas from Singapore and Taiwan finally managed to dock at the pier of Liquigaz Philippines Corp. in Mariveles, Bataan.

The ships arrived last Aug. 2, but they were prevented from docking at the pier because of strong winds and heavy rains, Bolisay said.

He said there was no shortage in the supply of LPG. He also refuted the allegation of an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) that retailers were hoarding LPG following massive flooding in Metro Manila and parts of Luzon.

Bolisay said a bigger ship has started to unload 17,000 metric tons of LPG at the warehouse of Liquigaz.

Of the country’s total LPG consumption of about 100 million kilograms per month, Bolisay said about 30 percent are produced by big multi-national firms such as Petron and Solane, formerly Shellane.

He said that Petron and Solane LPG cater mostly to commercial users, while independent refillers cater to household users.

An 11-kilo cylinder of LPG costs about P680 to P700 but in the Visayas and Mindanao, it normally costs P1,000 or even more, according to Bolisay.