Energy dep’t targets importing 240M liters of Russian diesel

May 31, 2018 | 9:40 pm By Arjay L. Balinbin Reporter

http://bworldonline.com/energy-dept-targets-importing-240m-liters-of-russian-diesel/

THE Department of Energy (DoE) on Thursday announced that the government-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is targeting to import “240 million liters of diesel through a government-to-government deal with Russia,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella said.

Interviewed at Malacañang, Mr. Fuentebella said the target of PNOC is to “import 200 metric tons or 240 million liters of diesel” from Russia to “augment the country’s crude oil stockpiles.”

The DoE official, however, could not say as to when the said supply would arrive in the country. He said that this may not make an immediate impact on fuel prices, noting that the amount of diesel that is set to be imported “is very little.”

“It is very little, only a few percent. Its impact is only for three days. It is too small,” he said.

“Mag jump-start pa lang sya (The effect has yet to jump-start). If you are asking me if that figure will be significant, not yet but the marching orders of the President is towards that direction,” the official said.

He also explained the planned importation is only for “stockpiling, …suporta siya dun sa (as support for the) minimum inventory requirement, so (this is) more of energy security. But nonetheless, ineexplore natin ’yung proseso kung papaano ito gagawin para in the end, makatulong din sa prices. Although sa ngayon, sobrang liit.” (But nonetheless, we’re exploring the process so in the end, this would also help in terms of [fuel] prices. Although for now, the impact is too small.)

The move to import diesel fuel from Russia, Mr. Fuentebella said, is also to “enhance the competition” in the Philippine market.

“The rippling effect is the most important one, which is to enhance the competition in a way that there are governments that are open,” he said.

“We are breaking it through our government-to-government relationship [with Russia]. Why don’t you look at it this way? We are utilizing our government-to-government relationship.”

BusinessWorld reported on Tuesday that the DoE has tasked the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) to engage in “oil trading and retail” in order “to provide competition to existing oil industry players and pacify domestic oil prices.”