The Philippines is set to import oil from Russia next month to boost the country’s fuel reserves, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a radio interview Wednesday.
Cusi pushed for oil stockpiling to secure the country’s oil requirements amid global uncertainties.
He said state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp. would likely start importing oil from Russia by end of June.
“We will feel that towards the end of June because there is shipment time…This is a result of shortage of supply experienced globally,” Cusi said.
“So we just want to be assured that our country will have sufficient supply,” he said.
Cusi said the decision to import oil from other countries came about after the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to the Middle East and Russia.
“So during those visits, we talked about the need to put up a strategic reserve for the country… So we are pursuing this now , so that we can import and we can set up this reserve,” he said.
Cusi said the oil companies had an inventory of around 15 days for finished products and 30 days for crude products.
“We want to have a higher inventory so we have a safety measure. So we asked PNOC-EC to import…and we can sell that to a third party in the industry,” the energy chief said.
Cusi said the Philippines was eyeing an initial shipment of 200,000 metric tons per month. “First, we are looking at our storage capacity, its location,” he said.
He said the oil importation from Russia was now under negotiation.
Cusi said the plan was to give special discounts to buyers of fuel imported by PNOC EC.
Cusi said he also asked the oil companies to avoid implementing a price increase this week and treat it as a “sort of a discount.”
“I think some oil companies are doing it, but not all. Again, it’s a free market,” he said.