Vice Governor Rene Lopez Relampagos has shared to the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) the root cause of the fuel supply crisis in Bohol in the light of the long queues at gas stations in the province, particularly in Tagbilaran City.
He pointed out that logistics is the root cause of the fuel supply problem that surfaced following the typhoon.
During the SP’s regular session on Dec. 28, 2021, Relampagos shared information from a meeting called by Gov. Arthur Yap a day earlier with representatives from the big 3 oil companies-Shell, Petron, and Caltex.
He relayed the information as a response to the privilege speech of Philippine Councilors League (PCL) – Bohol President and ex-officio Board Member Jescelo Adiong regarding the fuel supply woes in the province
Apart from the representatives from the big three oil company, also present in the said meeting were executives from Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Region VII, Bohol Investment Promotions Center (BIPC), the Provincial Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
Relampagos emphasized two points in his discussion with SP member: the mechanics of the fuel industry in Bohol and the problem about logistics.
According to Paul Solon, facilities manager of the Shell Depot at Graham Avenue, Tagbilaran, fuel stock inventory in the depot is sufficient to cover the demand for fuel in Bohol in three to four days. The Graham Depot serves the three major oil players, which can store 1.4 million liters of diesel and another 1.4 million liters of gasoline.
Moreover, on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, a total of 2 million liters of fuel were delivered by oil companies to the province.
As far as Shell, Petron, and Caltex are concerned, the fuel supply here is sufficient.
However, Petron only has 36 gas stations throughout the province.
On the other hand, Shell has only 10 stations and Caltex has 28 outlets.
New oil industry players or independent stations such as Total, Seaoil, and Phoenix have significant number of gas stations combined as well. The oil companies outside the big 3 have a total of 161 stations located all over the province.
It was learned that these independent stations get their fuel products from areas such as Cebu and Negros via tankers.
Moreover, with the current lack of power in Bohol, the independent oil companies players don’t have generator sets for their operations.
As a result, Boholanos trooped to Tagbilaran City fuel stations that are open to fill the gas tanks of their vehicles or buy fuel for their generator sets at home or office.
The vice governor also chided unscrupulous Boholanos taking advantage on the situation following the typhoon by retailing fuel products at exorbitant prices.
Before the typhoon, the average daily demand in Bohol is at 300,000 to 400,000 liters. However, it has increased to over 500,000 liters following the typhoon.
With this sudden spike in fuel demand, the arrival of new stocks, or the turnaround time, is not fast enough to cover the needs of Boholanos, Relampagos observed.
The turnaround time is defined as the time it takes for a fuel tanker to arrive here and replenish the depleted supply. Here in the province, the usual turnaround time is once in every five days, Relampagos noted.
The fuel supply problem is, therefore, a logistics problem, caused by the spike in demand and exacerbated by the slow turnaround time.
“Inag human ug tubil sa depot diha sa Graham para supply aning mga gasoline station sa Tagbilaran, balik na sad ilang [big three] mga tanker sa depot para mutubil pang supply sa mga lungsod. Pero tungod sa abnormal demand nga ni-a tanan gatubil sa Tagbilaran apil ang taga lungsod, wala pa gane sila kalarga pagtubil sa mga lungsod, kinahanglan na pud i-replenish ang supply diri sa Tagbilaran. Taas sad ang pila sa mga pantalan sa Cebu, sa Negros nga musulod.”
Moreover, Yap has asked the major oil companies to draft a plan to help solve the current fuel supply situation woes.
Finally, Relampagos has pointed at the need to have a bigger depot facility.
“We don’t have a facility here that can store a bigger volume of fuel here in the province of Bohol,” Relampagos said.
“Not looking only at the present but also looking at the very immediate future, we have a very big problem in terms of the supply side is concern,” he remarked.
“[Many years ago], the oil companies have been trying to find areas where they can put up a bigger, more modern facility to address present and future demands of the problems but they are finding it extremely hard to be welcomed. Makadungog lang gani ug asang lugar magbutang ni-aning depot, they are always meet aning mga protesta. Wala gayud ni masulbad. Dili man ni basta-basta bisan asa ibutang ning depot. It should be near a port, specifically a deep port,” the vice governor narrated.
“There are many angles to look into. Ang atua lang, tabang lang ta ug paghatag ug saktong information sa katawhan on what is real score, on what is really happening, ug kanang wala’y angayan kabalak-an,” he concluded.