by Myrna Velasco July
23, 2016 (updated)
Cagayan De Oro – The
newly commissioned Northern Mindanao Import Facility (NMIF) is expected to
boost the sales volume of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC),
primarily in the strategic and brisk markets of Visayas and Mindanao.
Shell Philippines
chairman Edgar Chua said “with this facility, shipments can already be made
directly to Cagayan de Oro – and it is a strategic place to delivery points in
Visayas and Mindanao.”
He
said the advantage of the NMIF then would be “lower cost when it comes to
logistics and it will also enable them to have less double handling.”
Prior to the
establishment of their Mindanao import facility, he noted that congestion could
hobble product shipments from their refinery in Batangas and could be
compounded by occasional strike of typhoons.
The investment for the
facility, according to the Department of Energy (DOE) stands at US$80 million –
including the 10 additional horizontal tanks and three vertical tanks storing
gasoline, diesel, coco methyl ester (CME) and ethanol.
On market performance,
Chua emphasized that “at the very minimum, this will enable us to grow with the
market.”
The NMIF is considered
the biggest petroleum handling facility in Mindanao as it is the only one at
present that could handle product deliveries from medium range (MR) vessels at
300,000 barrels capacity.
Chua said there are
other terminals in Mindanao, but they are not of the same capacity and size
compared to the NMIF.
Energy Undersecretary
Donato Marcos highlighted during the facility’s inauguration that the new
import facility is part of the investment-response to underpin Mindanao’s
growing economy.
“The investment will
not only augment Mindanao’s energy supply, but also provide more employment and
livelihood opportunities for the people,” he stressed.
He added that with this
bigger terminal, “there is ample space for receiving medium-range vessels
within the PPA’s (Philippine Port Authority) premises with the availability of
new cargo lines ensuring safe and efficient receiving and loading operations.”
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