Shell to invest P6.5B for refinery

MANILA, Philippines—Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. is investing about $150 million (roughly P6.45 billion) to upgrade its refinery in Tabangao, Batangas, which will not only result in more efficient operations for the oil firm, but will also help shield Filipinos from the volatility of global oil prices.

The company has decided on this action despite facing numerous lawsuits filed by the government over Pilipinas Shell’s alleged tax evasion and misdeclaration of imported raw materials.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said that the decision of Pilipinas Shell and its parent firm Royal Dutch Plc to pour in more investments in the country could be attributed to renewed confidence in the Philippine economy and the Aquino administration.

The investment, he added, was also an offshoot of the meetings held between members of the Philippine delegation with business leaders in the UK.

Almendras disclosed that Pilipinas Shell was already close to completing a technical study that would evaluate possible modifications in the design and refining processes of Pilipinas Shells’ 110,000-barrels-a-day refinery.

The actual upgrading activities are set to begin next year and the modernized facility hopes to start commercial operations by 2015, according to Almendras.

By upgrading the facility, Pilipinas Shell will be able to produce more “white products” such as liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline and diesel in its refinery out of the “black yields,” thus helping meet rising fuel demand of the local market.