SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corporation (PCSPC), which operates the fuel depot here and the fuel pipeline linking Subic to Clark Freeport, has expanded its operations here with the inauguration of three new 180,000 barrel fuel storage tanks and two tank-truck loading racks on Friday. The groundbreaking ceremony at the Maritan Hill expansion site was attended by top officials from the PCSPC, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and the Aboitiz Construction Group, Inc., which fabricated the new storage tanks. The operation of the three new tanks will increase PCSPC’s total fuel storage capacity to 5.2 million barrels, or 827 million liters, said PCSPC Chairman Michael Rodriguez. “This considerable increase in storage is in response to our customers’ demand for quality and available fuel storage in Subic Bay, and we are pleased to be able to provide this new expansion to accommodate their needs.” Rodriguez said. He also boasted that the construction of the three new storage tanks and the two tank-truck loading racks was completed within one year without any accidents. The construction was “on time and on budget,” Rodriguez added. SBMA Administrator Wilma Eisma lauded the PCSPC project and noted that the construction of infrastructures within the Freeport can be done without any untoward incident. She added that the expansion of the fuel storage facility would also boost business in the Subic Bay Freeport. PCSPC officials said the new tanks are on par with international standards and will increase the company’s total fuel storage by 540,000 barrels for various fuel products such as diesel, gasoline, jet and fuel oil. The expansion also completed the PCSPC’s commitment to the SBMA to invest and build 1.8 million barrels of fuel tank storage at the Maritan tank farm. The PCSPC’s strategic location inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone provides efficient importation of fuel products for storage and onward distribution along the network of well-maintained toll roads to Clark, Manila, Central and Northern Luzon. “The Freeport also provides an efficient coastal location for hub operations with imports from regional refineries for onward export distribution to the region,” Rodriguez said. The company has been operating the petroleum storage and pipeline facilities of the former US Naval Base in Subic. The facility was originally constructed in 1953 with a capacity of 2.4 million barrels, but PCSPC has doubled the fuel storage capacity over the past six years, with plans to further expand operation in the future. (JRR/DMS/MPD-SBMA)

• published: 15 Jul 2017
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