Philippines signs pilot projects to explore emergency oil access in Indonesia and Thailand
The Philippines has taken a first step towards emergency access to oil stored abroad: the state-run PNOC Exploration Corporation signed letters of intent on Saturday with Indonesia's PT Interport Mandiri Utama and the Shell Company of Thailand, to explore oil 'ticketing' — paying for the right to draw on oil held in Indonesian and Thai storage in an emergency. The signings, facilitated by ERIA and the Indonesian Business Council, were announced at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Manila. The Philippines imports 99 percent of its crude oil.
Key points
- PNOC-EC signed letters of intent with an Indonesian storage operator and Shell Thailand to explore emergency oil access.
- The model is oil ticketing: pay for the right to draw on oil stored abroad in an emergency, instead of building new storage.
- The Philippines imports 99 percent of its crude oil, ERIA says.
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- The letters explore pilots only — no volumes, prices or start dates have been published.
What happened
The signings are the practical follow-up to ERIA's ASEAN oil stockpiling study, which modelled ticketed and joint stocks as a cheaper way for the region to hold emergency cover.
They land during the ASEAN summit week in Manila, with the Iran war's disruption of Middle East supply as the stated backdrop.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The two letters of intent, the companies involved and the ticketing model are in ERIA's own announcement.
What we don't know yet
- Volumes, fees and conditions — none have been published; the letters open exploration, not purchases.
- When a working arrangement would start — no timetable was announced.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (5)
Why this label: From ERIA's own announcement of the signing, read in full; ERIA and IBC signed as knowledge partners.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The pairings are stated in ERIA's announcement and reported the same way by Arab News.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The mechanism is explained in ERIA's announcement; the letters of intent explore cooperation — they do not yet create the access.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The dependence figures are ERIA's, from its announcement and its ASEAN oil stockpiling study.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The war-disruption framing is Arab News' report of the signing; the president's call for the study is in ERIA's announcement.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
The Philippines has almost no crude of its own and thin emergency stocks. A working ticket system with Indonesia and Thailand would give it a claim on nearby fuel in a crisis — the difference, in a supply shock, between planning and scrambling.
Background
ERIA and IBC convene a high-level business roundtable in Singapore on ASEAN oil stockpiling.
The two letters of intent are signed in Manila and announced at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published — the signings are confirmed by ERIA's own announcement, with Arab News reporting the same pairings.