Oil supply to last 45 days, 1M barrels of diesel purchase ongoing — DOE

Metro Manila, Philippines – The country’s oil supply will last for 45 days as efforts continue to secure buffer stock by buying one million barrels at a cost of ₱10 billion, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Tuesday, March 24.

The Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) listed the oil inventory per product is as follows:

Gasoline – 53.14 days

Diesel – 45.82 days

Kerosene – 97.93 days

Jet fuel – 38.62 days

Fuel oil – 61.49 days

LPG – 23.51 days

“Sa international standard po sa International Energy Agency, 30 days po ang suggestion. In fact, all our products are above that. Ang hindi lang ay LPG, so we’re looking especially into the case of LPG,” said Energy Department Undersecretary Alessandro Sales during a Senate committee hearing.

[Translation: The international standard set by the International Energy Agency suggests 30 days of oil reserves. In fact, all our products are above that minimum except for liquefied petroleum gas, so we’re looking into that case.]

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the department, through the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), is buying million barrels of diesel as buffer stock for ₱10 billion.

“And that’s only enough for one week for the country,” said Garin.

The state-owned company had secured around 400,000 barrels, said Garin, while more than 140,000 were to be delivered by the end of March, as confirmed by Sales.

The first 400,000 barrels will come from Southeast Asian countries, and the rest from other regions.

“Sisiguraduhin din na tama ang sourcing natin because we want to diversify. Kailangan hindi lang iisang country ang kinukunan natin,” said Garin, explaining the agency’s objective to have different suppliers to ensure sufficient supply should some countries decide not to export.

[Translation: We have to make sure that our sourcing is correct because we want to diversify. We need to source from different countries.]

“We are building our buffer despite the limitations. Pero our team is hard at work and trying to make sure na kahit po isa o dalawang araw ‘yan, it’s a very important addition para sigurado po na our country doesn’t run dry. Hindi tayo mauubusan ng fuel,” she added.

[Translation: We are building our buffer despite the limitations. But our team is working hard to ensure that even if it’s just one or two days’ worth, it is still an important addition to make sure the country does not run dry. We will not run out of fuel.]