Shell recently inaugurated a bulk storage terminal for lubricants in Guiguinto, the Philippines – its first new lubricants facility in the country since the obligatory demolition of its oil depot in Manilas Pandacan neighborhood last November.
The 34th North Lubricants Exchange Hub handles Shells bulk lubricant storage and distribution for customers in Luzon and some parts of Visayas and Mindanao, a Shell spokesman said. The 425-ton facility handles bulk storage of lubricant products ranging from marine oil, engine oil, industrial oil and hydraulic oil.
Not to be confused with Tiaong city in the Quezon province, the terminal is located in the Tiaong district of Guiguinto, in Bulacan – a site Shell chose for its proximity to a freeway and to major ports and transport hubs in Luzon.
Photo: Shell
The facility is dedicated to lubricant storage and distribution only, so it is not meant to replace the companys Pandacan location, which housed Shell fuels and lubricants storage along with a blending plant. The government ordered the 33-hectre Pandacan Oil Depot – which was also housed Petron and Chevron facilities – to close after it was rezoned from its original 1910s industrial use designation to its current high-density commercial/mixed use zoning.
Shell neither confirmed nor denied reports that the facility is valued at 6 billion pesos (approximately U.S. $127 million).