Gatchalian measure to abolish subsidiaries of state-owned PNOC

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is proposing a measure abolishing the subsidiaries of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) after the president of a PNOC unit was suspended for signing a deal with a Russian firm without board permission.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on energy and economic affairs, said PNOC-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) president and CEO Pedro Aquino was suspended for approving a memorandum of agreement with a Russian firm Rosneft Oil Co. “for the development of multilateral cooperation in oil products and trading, and joint participation in oil refining without permission from the board or from Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi."

Aquino’s suspension, the senator said, “highlights the need for a clear policy direction for the entire PNOC family.”

“We plan to remedy this situation by championing in this Congress a measure that will restructure PNOC by abolishing its existing subsidiaries and directing its focus away from non-exploration activities,” Gatchalian said in a statement Tuesday.

PNOC’s subsidiaries include the PNOC-EC—which has a 10% interest in the Malampaya natural gas field project—and PNOC Renewables Corp.

“The bottom line here is that we will refocus the PNOC to purely upstream oil and gas so that it will contribute to securing the country’s energy needs,” Gatchalian said.

The suspension of PNOC-EC's chief could have been prevented, according to the lawmaker, "if we had a more focused PNOC."

“Unfortunately, the PNOC is spreading itself too thin by doing different things when its focus should be on oil and gas exploration,” Gatchalian said.

“The PNOC-EC is supposed to be tasked with exploration, but this recent deal shows its intent to go into petroleum trading. Meanwhile, the PNOC mother company wants to go into LNG, while the PNOC Renewables Corp. is building solar rooftops,” he said. —Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News