Labrador, Pangasinan—Labrador Oil Terminals Inc. broke ground Thursday on its P1.2-billion, 88 million-liter oil terminal here in Barangay Uyong that will serve the fuel needs of independent oil players in parts of northern Luzon.
“The Labrador Oil Terminal seeks to cater to the needs of the oil industry players in northern Luzon and serve as a viable alternative to Subic and Bataan. Once it operates, the terminal is projected to have a significant impact in the region in terms of making the operations of the independent oil traders and distributors more cost-efficient, thus making the market more competitive,” LOTI chairman Jack Tan said during the ground-breaking ceremony.
He said the terminal would provide security of supply to neighboring provinces in Regions 1 and 2 and help oil companies lower fuel prices by P0.80 to P1 per liter due to reduced logistics costs.
The first phase of the terminal with a capacity of 28 million liters is expected to be completed by February next year, while the remaining 60-million liter capacity is estimated to be operational in June, depending on land negotiations.
Tan said LOTI was looking at new players like Gulf Oil, Centrum and Regas to store their imported petroleum products at the terminal. Cities and provinces in northern Luzon have a projected monthly consumption of about 40 million to 50 million liters.
LOTI officials said most of the fuel deliveries in Regions 1 And 2 were withdrawn from the Ports of Subic and Bataan.
“LOTI saw the need to level the gap of fuel prices and sufficiency especially in the provinces since most of the storage facilities in the country are confined in the major ports near the bigger cities which resulted in a significant issue in fuel costs as freight is variedly higher and is normally passed on to consumers,” Tan said.