The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the study that aims to update the 2002 Philippine National Oil Contingency Plan, as well as provide recommendations on the creation and operation of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Program.
“Today’s signing speaks volumes on Japan’s commitment to help the Philippines succeed in attaining its energy security goals. I take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the Japanese government and its private sector for helping us attain our long-term goals,” Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi said.
Cusi further emphasized that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, energy security has always been at the core of the DOE’s policy agenda.
“We have been proactively seeking all potential ways to ensure the availability of sufficient energy supply, most especially in the face of local or global disruptions such as geopolitical movements, global market volatilities, and more recently, this COVID health crisis,” he stated.
The MOA is an offshoot of the DOE’s collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and JOGMEC to update the 2002 METI study, “Master Plan for the Development of Stockpiling for the Philippines”.
Under the MOA, JOGMEC will conduct a study within eight months of its signing, and the parties shall have a one-year consultative period after the submission of the final report.
Among the areas of study are the international petroleum products’ supply and demand situation in the past five years and the expected growth for the next 20 years, international strategic petroleum reserve program situation in the past five years to address supply disruptions, and the country’s petroleum products’ supply and demand situation in the past five years and expected growth for the next 20 years.
The study also aims to look into government-owned and privately-owned crude oil and finished petroleum products’ storage facilities in the past five years and the expected growth for the next 20 years, and existing government policies and implementation to address petroleum products’ supply for normal demand.
It likewise seeks to analyze the gaps in the existing government-owned and private-owned petroleum products’ storage facilities, the gaps in the existing policies on contingency and emergency response to international and domestic supply disruptions, and the role of the DOE, the Philippine National Oil Company, and other relevant government agencies to address the country’s national petroleum products’ emergency supply strategies and measures.
JOGMEC is expected to submit to the DOE its final output two months after the study’s completion. It will likewise provide relevant recommendations on the creation and operation of the Philippine SPR Program.
