MANILA — The proposed national fuel stockpiling system will not require funding from the national government, as the project will be financed by the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) and other investors, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.

Garin said the initiative aims to establish at least 30 days’ worth of government fuel reserves in addition to the existing fuel inventories maintained by private companies to help cushion the effects of possible supply disruptions.

As part of the project, the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) will undertake a feasibility study with assistance from the Japanese government. Japanese representatives are expected to visit the Philippines in the coming months to support the study.

“There are certain objectives that we are trying to reach, but the primary purpose is to add more to the 60 days stockpiling of private companies or the 30 days. It could be 30 to 60 days, depending on the resources of our private companies,” Garin said.

She said the MIC and PNOC are currently working on guidelines that will define the responsibilities of each agency, with the final document expected to be completed within the month.

The amount of investment required for the project will depend on the outcome of the feasibility study. Garin said the entire process, including the study, permitting, and construction, is expected to take about a year.

While she did not provide an estimate of the total investment, Garin said a storage tank capable of holding around 500,000 million barrels of oil would cost about PHP5 billion.

According to Garin, the project would enable the government to build and maintain its own fuel storage facilities, instead of relying on infrastructure owned by private oil companies.

“The Philippine government, for a long time ready, decades even, has decided to not be in the oil business or even in power business. But with the changing times, so is our needs. That is why it’s about time for us to revisit (existing policies) so that we do not experience what we experienced because of the Middle East crisis,” she said.