August 24, 2018 | 12:06 am
PNOC
EXPLORATION Corp. (PNOC-EC) plans to buy Euro 4 gas oil or diesel fuel from the
seller’s point of origin in a move that has seen the state-led company setting
a new deadline in its bid to import competitively priced petroleum products.
In the letter of intent
posted on its website, the energy exploration arm of state company Philippine
National Oil Co. (PNOC) set the deadline of submission for interested sellers
at noon of Sept. 13, 2018.
“Late offers shall not
be accepted,” the PNOC unit said.
The new deadline
follows pronouncements from the Department of Energy (DoE) that it planned to
import the petroleum products by end-June, which it moved to July until the new
date set by PNOC-EC. The DoE secretary chairs the PNOC board.
The call for sellers is
also silent about importing from Russia, which DoE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi
cited when he first announced the plan earlier this year. He had said Russia
was willing to offer the fuel at costs cheaper than prevailing prices.
PNOC-EC’s specification
for the fuel is a sulfur content of 50 parts per million (PPM), or the standard
for Euro 4. It said the port of loading is as designated by the seller, while
the port of destination is any safe port in the Philippines that it would
designate. Euro 4 is a globally accepted European emissions standard for
vehicles.
The company set the
quantity at 50,000 metric tons for the trial shipment. Subsequent shipments of
up to four shipments per month and up to one year are to be mutually agreed by
the seller and the buyer.
The payment term is
through letter of credit, while the delivery term is within 15 days after
signing of the contract.
PNOC-EC said it
reserves the right to cancel, terminate or discontinue its intent to buy the
petroleum products “for any justifiable and reasonable grounds without any
liabilities, whatsoever.”
In late May, the DoE
said it was planning to source petroleum products from Russia and other
countries that are not members of the oil cartel Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC).
It said the move was
meant to “establish a strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) to cushion the impact
of the rising price of oil in the international market.”
Mr. Cusi said the
government was aware of the country’s “vulnerabilities to abrupt changes in the
international oil situation and impending threats on the same, hence we are
formulating various strategies to address those vulnerabilities to cushion the
impact for our consumers.” — Victor V. Saulon
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