By Lane Afable, News Editor
In order to beef up the country’s buffer stock of diesel amid supply shortage as a result of the Middle East conflict,
the government has set aside P20 billion to buy 2-million barrels of deisel oil.
This was bared by
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin in Tuesday’s virtual press briefing.
Garin said the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is targeting to secure a maximum of two million barrels of diesel buffer stock, which will cost about P20 billion.
“The two million-barrel diesel buffer would add another 10 days’ worth of fuel supply for the country,” she said.
Currently, she continued, the government through the PNOC, is procuring the initial one million barrels of diesel “that’s good enough for five days for the whole country worth P10 billion.”
The transaction for the first 400,000 barrels is “finished already.
“Then this week another 600,000,” Garin said.
The first 400,000 barrels were sourced from Southeast Asian countries.
“The other 600,000 will be outside the Southeast Asia region. I just don’t want to preempt because it’s still under negotiations,” she added.
Data released by the Energy Department showed that the country’s average fuel inventory is good for 45 days.
Garin said the government’s diesel buffer will be sold to fuel retailers to augment their supply.
“But companies do not need it as of now because our supply is sufficient for 45 days. We are building our buffer stock, it’s not big, but we need to build it up so we have a reserve. It’s better to have little than none,” she said.
Garin said that the PNOC still does not have the guidelines on how to distribute the buffer stock once its release is triggered, “but the priority when we talk about diesel or fuel will be the transport system because majority of Filipinos use public transport and we have to make sure that’s running.”
Moreover, she said, the government’s diplomatic teams as well as the DOE and PNOC “are doing the diversification of sources, we’re also talking to Canada, North America, South America, Australia.”
“There are limitations on lead time for delivery, but we are diversifying our supply,” she said.
