Gov’t-procured 22,000 MT of LPG set to arrive in May — DOE

The government, through state-run Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), has ordered 22,000 metric tons (MT), or 22 million kilos, of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to boost the country’s buffer stock amid the ongoing Middle East fuel crisis.

At a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said PNOC placed the order this week as the country’s LPG inventory remains relatively low.

Department of Energy (DOE) data showed the country’s LPG supply is good for 36 days, compared with 49 days for diesel, 54 days for gasoline, and 105 days for kerosene.

“In terms of LPG, we contracted the first volume through PNOC… they just ordered 22,000 metric tons of LPG,” DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said during the briefing.

“The delivery window for this cargo is sometime in the second to third week of May, so this will boost our LPG buffer stock,” he added.

Earlier, the government, through PNOC-Exploration Corp., ordered 1.042 million barrels of diesel to augment the country’s fuel reserves amid the crisis stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.

The first 142,000 barrels arrived on March 26, while the remaining 900,000 barrels are scheduled for delivery this April.

Last Saturday, an initial 300,000 barrels of diesel arrived in the country.

Sales said the next deliveries are expected “by the end of this week,” with the final cargo arriving shortly thereafter.—MCG, GMA News