EPC to reopen oil terminal in Pasig City

New player, Eastern Petroleum Corp. (EPC), was allowed to reopen its oil terminal in Pasig to immediately sell its remaining petroleum stocks to its customers, including the Subic Bay Distribution Inc. (SBDI).

EPC chairman Fernando Martinez said the Pasig City government has agreed to reopen the plant to allow them to sell all their stocks of 1.5 million liters. He said the move will cushion any possible impact of an impending supply shortage among the new oil players.

According to Martinez, the sale of the remaining stocks would generate some P20 million in total earnings for the company.

"Normal operation would be allowed as soon as we have produced the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and the clearance from the Laguna Lake Development Authority," the EPC official said.

Martinez said the oil firm is likely to meet the requirements of the Pasig City government within the next couple of weeks.

The Pasig terminal was padlocked last December by the local government of Pasig due to complaints lodged by residents near the facility.

Martinez said the officials are asking him to produce various documents that would justify his counterclaim that EPC’s terminal had complied with all the safety and environmental rules. And until those documents are submitted, he said the terminal would remain closed.

But he threatened that the closure of EPC’s terminal will hamper the petroleum reserves of the new players, particularly its biggest client SBDI. "Many of the new entrants buy their requirements from EPC and they are beginning to feel supply tightness. Gasoline shortage at service stations is getting more pressing. SBDI clients have to wait longer due to longer travel time from Clark and Subic," he said. – Donnabella Gatdula