PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. is on track to meet the commercial operations of its multimillion-dollar fuel-import facility in Cagayan de Oro next year.
Shell Director Sebastian Quiniones Jr. said on Wednesday that the facility, which will cater to the power and energy needs of the Visayas and Mindanao, will be ready “by end of next year.”
Dubbed the North Mindanao Import Facility (NMIF), the station provides an additional source point for fuels that can be distributed to depots in the Visayas and Mindanao. The facility will contribute to increased security of energy supply as it will provide additional storage capacity of finished petroleum products. At the same time, the facility will help reduce maritime risks—as a source of petroleum products it is closer to the intended distribution points.
“Mindanao is a huge market but the import terminal can also cover the Visayas. We receive fuel imports in Luzon and transport them to the Visayas and Mindanao, so with the terminal this will cut logistics costs,” he said.
The facility, which costs $85 million, is aligned with the policy thrust of the Department of Energy (DOE) to promote investment in the energy sector. The project will contribute toward two of the DOE’s directives under the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016, which are to promote development and upgrade of the downstream infrastructure, and to update the Oil Supply Contingency Plan through the establishment of oil stockpile.
“We want a legitimate alternative that can give revenues to the government. I think NMIF will be able to serve requirements of industries that will be put up in Mindanao,” he said.
The Shell official said the prospects of the project seem rosy.
“With the peace process almost completed, we expect more investments from various industries and those will need fuel,” he said. “Even before we started the project, we knew that growth will happen and we are there to support, we are there to invest.” Shell, as a global leader in power, energy and gas technology, continuously works to meet the increasing energy demand and supply challenges of the world by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, smarter infrastructure, promoting sustainable mobility, and by developing new energy sources such as cleaner-burning natural gas, to address the energy challenge while mitigating environmental impact.