CNG bus operators eye Shell station

MANILA, Philippines - Operators of buses fuelled by compressed natural gas (CNG) may end up owning and operating the Mamplasan CNG daughter station of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.

Shell country chairman Edgar Chua told reporters on the sidelines of the launching of the Shell-Eco Marathon Asia, that the company is currently discussing the possibility of these bus operators acquiring the Mamplasan facility from Shell. 

Chua said they have been talking with the group of bus operators led by KL CNG Bus Corp. owner Charlie Lim.

“We are talking with bus companies, the group of Charlie Lim of PBOAP (Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines),” he said, adding that “the negotiations involve transferring the facilities to them.”

It was not clear whether the deal with the bus operators will include the purchase of the mother station in Batangas, the source of the CNG being fed to the Mamplasan daughter station in Laguna.

According to Chua, there were no other parties that they have negotiated with for the Mamplasan buyout.

 “Callandra never talked to us. We never talked to them,” the Shell official said.

Callandra, a US-backed CNG company earlier said it had been exploring talks with Shell for the purchase of Mamplasan facility.