Shell ready to relocate oil depot outside Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines -  Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said it is ready to relocate its oil depot outside Metro Manila should the government decides to shut down the Pandacan oil warehouse.

Shell country chairman Edgar Chua told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of Eco-Marathon Asia 2011, that they, however, would still prefer to stay put at Pandacan, which the company claims is still the best oil storage facility and also the most cost efficient.

“For us, our position has always been that the best place to have a depot is still Pandacan, and because it is the best place for us, we would prefer to stay in Pandacan. And if we’re forced to move out of Pandacan, then we will move outside of Manila,” he said.

But he said just in case, they are also currently looking at other options. “We’re looking at an area outside of Manila,” he said.

Earlier, Chua said they would rather relocate in an area near their pipeline which runs from Batangas to Pandacan.

“If we are forced to leave Pandacan, we do not intend to relocate in the Manila Bay area but to move to an area near the pipeline,” he said.

Earlier, the Department of Energy said there is a proposal to put up a possible foreign and local-run oil hub in the Manila Bay area.

Energy undersecretary Jay Layug said there are proposals to build this oil warehouse for all petroleum players.

Layug said this hub would be somewhere in a reclaimed area in Manila Bay.

“There had been a lot of talks lately about an oil hub outside Pandacan. They’re looking at different areas, in Manila Bay there are many areas. They’re going to reclaim the area and build an oil storage hub,” Layug said.