Pilipinas Shell inaugurates import terminal in Batangas

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The ribbon cutting ceremony on June 30 of the Shell Import Facility Tabangao handover, which had undergone a transformation from a refinery into an import facility. Photo courtesy of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.
  • The Shell Import Facility in Tabangao (SHIFT) Batangas was inaugurated by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. on June 30
  • The inauguration marks the pivot of the facility from a refinery to an import terminal
  • SHIFT aims to enhance Pilipinas Shell’s capacity to meet fuel demand not just in Metro Manila, but also in Southern Luzon and Northern Visayas
  • It has a storage capacity of up to 263 million liters and boasts of jetties designed to receive products from various vessel sizes

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (PSPC) on June 30 inaugurated its import terminal in Tabangao, Batangas, marking the transition of the facility from a refinery to an import terminal.

The inauguration of Shell Import Facility in Tabangao (SHIFT) aims to enhance Pilipinas Shell’s capacity to meet fuel demand not just in Metro Manila, but also in Southern Luzon and Northern Visayas.

READ: Shell permanently shutters Batangas refinery

PSPC began transforming the Tabangao refinery from a petroleum processing plant to a full import facility in May 2020, saying running a refinery is no longer economically viable due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy as well as the oil supply-demand imbalance in the region.

The transformation of Tabangao “bolstered Pilipinas Shell with a more balanced and competitive marketing portfolio, supported by the organization’s robust supply chain,” PSPC president and chief executive officer Cesar Romero said in a statement.

He added the shift helped Pilipinas Shell post, despite the pandemic, a net income of P1 billion for the first quarter of 2021 from a P5.5-billion loss year-on-year.

Kit Bermudez, PSPC incoming vice president for trading and supply, said SHIFT facilities aim to build a more resilient supply chain with a robust logistics setup able to meet future growth requirements of the market.

SHIFT has a storage capacity of up to 263 million liters and boasts of jetties that have loading arms to make product transfer safer and faster, provide an easier and more ergonomic operation, give longer service life, and permit Emergency Release Action without any spillage of product and without pollution.

Its jetties are designed to receive products from various vessel sizes, including medium-range import vessels that can carry around 30 million to 50 million liters of petroleum products like gasoline or diesel.

The loading gantries at SHIFT are equipped with a bottom loading function, which enables PSPC to load a 30-kiloliter truck in 20 minutes. There are plans to put up another bottom loading gantry to support the growth of PSPC’s marketing business.

SHIFT is 100% powered by a combination of solar, geothermal, and hydro energies provided by retail electricity supplier Shell Energy Philippines.

READ: New Subic facility boosts Pilipinas Shell’s northern supply chain

Aside from SHIFT, PSPC last year opened an import facility in Subic, Zambales to strengthen its supply chain to the northern parts of the Philippines. The company also has a North Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao.