Philippines says Shell refinery shutdown will not impact local oil supply

The Philippine government on Thursday sought to allay concern over domestic fuel supply after Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp announced it planned to permanently shut down operations at its 110,000-barrel-per-day Tabangao refinery.

“I respect the decision of Shell changing their oil downstream business model to adapt to the existing market/economic situation,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a text message.

“This, however, will not affect the oil supply in the country as they will continue to fill in their market share” through imports of refined products, he said, adding that he was concerned about possible job losses.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz Editing by Ed Davies)