The planned national fuel stockpiling system will not burden the national government in terms of financing, as this will be shouldered by the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) and other investors, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Monday, June 1, 2026.
She said the plan would allow the government to have at least 30 days of fuel reserves on top of what the private sector has to address the impact of supply disruptions.
The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) will conduct a feasibility study with the help of the Japanese government, which is expected to send representatives to the Philippines in the next few months.
“There are certain objectives that we are trying to reach, but the primary purpose is to add more to the 60-day stockpiling of private companies or the 30-day stockpiling. It could be 30 to 60 days, depending on the resources of our private companies,” she said.
Garin said officials from the MIC and the PNOC are drafting the rules on the roles of each agency, and the final document will be out within this month. The investment depends on the result of the feasibility study and the facility is expected to be finished in about a year -- from study, permitting and construction.
Garin declined to give any figure for the possible investment, but said a tank that can accommodate around 500,000 million barrels of oil is around P5 billion. She said this would allow the government to have its own stockpiling facility, since what it is currently utilizing are the facilities of private oil firms.
“The Philippine government, for a long time ready, decades even, has decided not to be in the oil business or even in the power business. But with the changing times, so are our needs. That is why it’s about time for us to revisit (existing policies) so that we do not experience what we experienced because of the Middle East crisis,” she said.
The initiative aims to enhance the country's energy security by ensuring adequate fuel reserves during supply disruptions. The feasibility study, supported by Japanese expertise, will determine the optimal size and location of the storage facility. The MIC's involvement ensures that the project does not rely on government funds, aligning with the administration's fiscal prudence. Once operational, the facility will complement the existing private sector stockpile, providing a buffer of up to 60 days of fuel supply. Garin emphasized that this strategic move is a response to the lessons learned from the Middle East crisis, which highlighted the vulnerability of the country's fuel supply chain. The government's shift towards active participation in the energy sector marks a significant policy change, reflecting the evolving needs of the nation.
