Philippines Pitched as Asia's Oil Storage Hub - DOE

The Philippine government is actively promoting the country as a regional hub for oil storage in Asia, encouraging foreign companies to establish storage facilities within the Philippines. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced this initiative on Tuesday. "We are marketing the Philippines to be a regional hub for the ASEAN community or even for the Asian community where they can build a storage facility in the Philippines, and they can store here and stockpile here in the Philippines," said Energy Secretary Sharon Garin during a press briefing. However, Garin emphasized a crucial condition: "As long as the only condition there is, in case of emergency, the host country—our country—would have priority." The DOE had previously disclosed that Saudi Arabia's Aramco, one of the world's largest petroleum and energy companies, is considering establishing an oil export hub in Bataan province. This Bataan site is also being eyed for a 15-million-barrel reserve as part of the country's national oil stockpiling program. The Philippines' national oil stockpile program requires an estimated P5 billion to build a system capable of storing 500,000 to 1 million barrels. Meanwhile, the DOE is also seeking deals with countries outside the Middle East region for the country's fuel supply, aiming to diversify its sources. "Our discussions with various countries that are possible future suppliers are continuous, instead of depending only on the Middle East supply. Our discussions with their embassies here and with international communities are still ongoing, we continue," Garin stated. Furthermore, through the state-run Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), the government is studying and intending to construct facilities for the national reserve. The goal is to increase the country's oil reserve from the current approximately 50 days to a target of about 120 days of supply. Source: GMA Money Philippines