The Department of Energy (DOE) has requested an P8-billion allocation to fund the construction of the country’s first national oil reserve facility, capable of storing at least 1 million barrels of petroleum.
The funding request was revealed Thursday by Energy Undersecretary Rio Inocencio during a Senate Committee on Energy hearing led by Sen. Erwin Tulfo, which resumed discussions on proposed amendments to the Oil Deregulation Law following an initial inquiry on August 24.
Addressing the committee on the agency’s progress since the previous hearing, Inocencio outlined ongoing measures to monitor fuel price fluctuations and enforce transparency among downstream industry players. She noted that oil companies were required to resubmit unbundled importation and refining data to help determine accurate price ranges for diesel and gasoline at retail pumps.
Inocencio further disclosed that the DOE is coordinating with the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) to establish the initial strategic stockpile facility in Bataan.
“And in our budget request for PNOC, we did request for a budget of P8 billion for the construction of our first reserve tank that can accommodate 1 million barrels as an initial petroleum reserve of the country, because as of now, we don’t really have a national reserve,” Inocencio said.
During the proceedings, Tulfo advised the department to actively pursue earlier funding offers from the United Arab Emirates and Japan to assist with the development of national fuel storage infrastructure.
In response, DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad stated that a dedicated Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve (PSR) team has already been formed to coordinate with foreign governments proposing to build oil depots in the country.
PNOC Deputy Manager Antonio Buenviaje assured the panel that parallel efforts are underway to realize the strategic reserve system, targeting to have the facilities ready by 2027.