State-owned Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) is eyeing an expanded oil storage facility in the country, co-funded by the government and the private sector, to shield the Philippines from future oil price surges linked to overseas conflicts amid the Middle East crisis.
At a Wednesday House committee hearing, MIC President and CEO Rafael Consing said the facility will be built under a consortium model. The state-run Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) will contribute land or other assets, while MIC and private investors will provide financing, with the private sector handling the development and operation of tank farms.
“That [consortium model] would expand storage capacity without forcing the MIC itself to take direct market risk on fuel inventory,” he said.
“That is an intermediate-term plan. I envision that to be a solution that could take two to three years from the time we start working on it,” Consing added.
Despite significant rollbacks this week, domestic pump prices remain elevated, with diesel still in the triple-digit-per-liter range. The continued U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—a key global oil route—has heightened uncertainty, sustaining pressure on fuel prices.
In response to the conflict’s impact on the local economy, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared a state of energy emergency and ordered the suspension of excise taxes on kerosene and LPG earlier this week to ease pressure on consumers.
Consing said the landed cost of imported refined fuel has risen by about 60% to 70%, forcing retailers to increase working capital by as much as 60% to 100% just to maintain existing inventory.
“It is a reaction to the existing situation because we were not anticipating this event,” he said.
The Department of Energy (DOE) reported as of last Tuesday that the country has about 54 days of gasoline supply, 40 days of diesel, 36 days of LPG, and 105 days of kerosene remaining.
The DOE added that around 22.58 million liters of diesel have been delivered to the Philippines, while the Department of Finance earlier said the government plans to procure up to 2 million barrels of oil through PNOC.