Joint venture LPG firm to build 2 loading facilities

Shell Gas Eastern Inc. (SGEI), a joint venture liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) firm of Shell Petroleum N.V. and Total Petroleum Phils. Corp. (TPPC), expects to enhance its position in the LPG market with the construction of two new loading facilities worth P119 million.

The LPG import and storage terminal, which will be inaugurated today, will be located near the coastal town of Tabangao in Batangas. Total corners about 10 percent of the LPG market.

The new loading facilities, which were commissioned by SGEI in January 2001, will expand the current LPG dispatch capability of both Shell and TPPC to better and more efficiently serve their respective LPG markets.

The Shell/TPPC joint venture is in support of the Philippine downstream oil deregulation law, a landmark legislation that encourages the entry of new players in the domestic oil industry.

The law also encourages promotion of logistics rationalization and collaboration among players to better serve the public interest, achieve operational efficiency, ensure the continuous supply of petroleum products, and enhance environmental protection and safety practices.

Total acquired 15 percent of SGEI in 1999 not only to provide logistical support for its entry into the Philippine market but also for TPPC’s other LPG marketing operations in Southeast Asia. Shell Petroleum N.V. continues to own the remaining 85 percent equity of SGEI.

SGEI started business in 1982 to serve the growing LPG markets in Asia and the Philippines. It owns the first and only refrigerated butane and propane two-tank storage terminal in the Philippines, each with a capacity of 45,000 cubic meters of LPG.

The terminal, guaranteed to meet the highest standards of safety and quality, is strategically located in Batangas, which is within the heart of the Southeast Asian region. – Donnabelle Gatdula