RP firms up oil supply deal with Petroleum Brunei

The Department of Enery (DOE) said yesterday the Philippines is firming up another bilateral supply agreement with Petroleum Brunei, the newly-named national oil company of the oil-rich country.

"The DOE, through the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), has constant discussions with the officials of the state-owned oil firm of Brunei," Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez, who is also the chairman of PNOC, said.

Perez said PNOC president Thelmo Y. Cunanan had talks with Datu Alimin, president and chief executive officer of Petroleum Brunei (formerly Brunei National Oil Co.).

"I was told that the Petroleum Brunei officials has expressed his commitment and interest to enter into a bilateral supply agreement," Perez said.

In an earlier interview, Cunanan revealed that they are eyeing PNOC’s counterpart in Brunei as a potential source of oil in case of a supply shortage brought about by the conflict between the US and Iraq.

Aside from Brunei, PNOC has successfully tapped Pertamina, the largest state-owned oil conglomerate in Indonesia, to sign a commercial supply agreement that would allow the Philippines to get oil from Indonesia in case of a supply crunch.

Indonesia is reportedly willing to provide up to at least 600,000 barrels of oil or about two days oil supply. The country consumes 350,000 barrels of oil per day.

"That is why we need to tap more countries as possible to ensure that we will have a steady (oil) supply," Perez said.

Apart from these two Asean member countries, the government is also looking at the possibility of signing bilateral oil supply agreements with other non-OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) members.

By the end of this month, a high-level mission will be leaving for Russia to explore the possibility of tapping another potential supplier of oil for the Philippines.

Perez said they still have to firm up the decision to tap a country in the Middle East as another potential source of oil. About 31.9 percent of the country’s oil requirement is being supplied by Saudi Arabia. Other petroleum importers to the Philippines include: Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, and Australia.