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THE
country’s three major oil companies are eyeing coastal
areas of Manila Bay as a possible relocation site for
the Pandacan oil depot, which has been ordered by the
Supreme Court (SC) to move out due to security and
safety concerns.
Chevron
Philippines Inc. (formerly Caltex Philippines),
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Petron Corp.
submitted their Pandacan Comprehensive Relocation Plan
before the Regional Trial Court of Manila, Branch 39 in
compliance with the High Court’s resolution issued on
February 13, 2008.
The
implementation of the comprehensive plan is expected to
be completed not less than five years. Petron Corp. had
earlier filed a separate petition challenging the
validity of the Manila City Ordinance 8027 mandating the
pullout of the oil companies from Pandacan depot.
But, the
petition has already been dismissed by the lower court
upon joint motion of the parties, thus, it is
constrained to join Chevron and Pilipinas Shell in the
submission of the comprehensive relocation plan in view
of the February 13 resolution of the Court.
In the
said 78-page resolution, the SC’s First Division
affirmed its 2007 decision ordering the
Manila City government
and oil companies, Chevron, Pilipinas Shell and Petron
to facilitate the relocation of the 36-hectare Pandacan
oil depot.
SC said
the oil depot should be transferred to prevent possible
loss of many lives in case of terror attacks. It did not
give weight to the claim of the oil firms that they
stand to lose around P30 billion if the oil depot is
transferred.
The
Court held that people’s right to life should take
precedence over the oil firms’ right to property.
The
Court’s First Division through Associate Justice Corona
declared that Manila City Ordinance 8027 is valid,
therefore, should be implemented.
The said
ordinance reclassifies portions of the Manila districts
of Pandacan and Santa Ana from industrial to commercial
and directs certain business owners and operators,
including Caltex, Petron and Pilipinas Shell to cease
from operating their businesses within six months from
the ordinance’s effectivity date, which was December 28,
2001.
Likewise, the Court junked the contention of the oil
companies and the Department of Energy (DOE) that Manila
City Ordinance 8119 has repealed Ordinance 8027.
Ordinance 8119, which was passed on June 16, 2006,
allowed oil depots in Pandacan to continuously operate
for seven more years.
Under
the Pandacan Comprehensive Relocation Plan, the oil
companies are eyeing the construction of oil depot along
the coastal areas of Manila Bay, which stretches from
Manila, Navotas and Paranaque, as well as the provinces
of Bulacan and Cavite.
The
site, according to the oil companies, would give them
strategic advantage of having direct access to and from
the sea, thus, making the depot capable of handling sea
vessels such as tankers and barges for its product
supply and bunkering requirements.
“The
ideal site for a coastal depot should have adequate
depth of harbor, protection from the elements and
sufficient maneuvering area for safe and efficient
handling of marine vessels,” the oil companies said.
Another
option is an inland location along the route of the
Batangas-Manila oil pipeline owned and operated by the
Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp.
The
underline pipeline stars from Pilipinas Shell refinery
and Chevron import terminal located at
Batangas
Bay and ends at their respective terminals at Pandacan.
“Thus,
the ideal site should be located closer to Metro Manila,
where it should have a large area for tank farm and
buffer zone and sufficient ingress-egress to allow
efficient distribution of fuel products,” they added.
The oil
companies are also looking into the possibility of
having a multi-depot, which is a combination of inland
and coastal depots. The said option considers two or
more smaller depots to serve the Pandacan market.
The oil
firms, however, admitted that this might result in more
substantial capital investment and higher operating
costs.
Another
possibility is the utilization of ex-refinery depots and
other nearby depots of the oil companies. Base
locations are Petron’s Limay (Bataan), Shell’s
Tabangao (Batangas), Caltex’s San Pascual oil terminals
in Batangas. Secondary sites include Petron’s Rosario (Cavite)
and Navotas depots.
Under
the plan, the transfer of the Pandacan oil depot will be
carried out in three phases—Controlled Phase 1,
Uncontrolled Phase and Controlled Phase 2.
Phase 1
covers project development, determining the financing
plan, acquiring internal approvals and finalizing a
synergy agreement. This phase is expected to take about
one-and-a-half years.
On the
other hand, uncontrolled phase refers to activities that
would need the assistance of the government and involves
several parties external to the project. This covers
site selection, government actions and site
acquisitions.
The oil
firms yet to set a timeframe for the uncontrolled phase.
The
final phase is scheduled for three years and is allotted
for site-specific design and engineering and
construction and commissioning.
The
Court earlier acknowledged that an immediate transfer of
the oil terminals has far-reaching consequences and
might trigger a crisis, thus, it should be carried out
in accordance with a comprehensive and well-coordinate
plan.
The SC
noted that as early as October 2001, the oil companies
signed a memorandum of agreement with the DOE obliging
themselves to undertake a comprehensive and comparative
study, to include preparation of a master plan, for
relocation of the oil terminals. |
