Shell eyes expansion of Batangas import terminal

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. is looking at ramping up the loading capacity of its Tabangao fuel import terminal in Batangas in anticipation of growth in demand as the Philippine economy recovers.

The former crude oil refinery, which used to be the second biggest in the country, is now dubbed the Shell Import Facility in Tabangao or “Shift.” It was formally launched on June 30 after its repurposing as a “world-class” fuel terminal.

Being such, the Shift has a storage capacity of up to 263 million liters while its jetties are designed to receive products from various sizes of vessel, particularly medium-range import vessels.

Medium-range vessels are those that can carry around 30 million to 50 million liters of petroleum products like gasoline or diesel.

Also, the Tabangao jetties are equipped with loading arms or gantries that are designed for faster, easier and more ergonomic operation in transferring fuels into tanker trucks. These can fully load a 30,000-liter truck in 20 minutes.

According to Shell, there are plans to put up another bottom loading gantry to support the growth goals of their marketing business.

“Industries are gradually overcoming the challenges brought on by the pandemic, and positioning themselves not just for recovery, but growth,” Pilipinas Shell president and chief executive Cesar Romero said in a statement.

“We are here to support them (industries) at this critical time, just as we have for over 107 years of operation in the Philippines,” Romero said.

Shell also touted the Tabangao terminal as fully powered by renewable energy, a combination of solar, geothermal and hydro power provided through Shell Energy Philippines (SEPH).

SEPH is a retail electricity supplier, which is registered under the Shell companies in the Philippines (SciP). It operates onsite a solar farm with 5,220 solar panels and seven inverters that can generate up to 300 megawatt-hours of electricity.

“From tough decisions (of exiting the refining business) come positive results,” Romero said. “We are now better positioned, operationally and financially, to serve the country’s energy needs as the economy reopens with the lifting of restrictions.”