Firm in Makati gas leak warns of fuel shortage

The First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) blamed for a gas leak in Makati City on Thursday expressed fears that shutting down its pipelines could trigger a fuel shortage in Metro Manila. “There will be a shortage of fuel in Manila for our motorists, commercial users and even our airplanes," said FPIC president Leonides Garde in an interview on dzBB radio. The Lopez-owned firm supplies 50 to 60 percent of fuel used in Metro Manila, said Garde. Garde’s warning came on the same day Makati City mayor Jun-Jun Binay Jr. said the gas leak could “possibly" come from FPIC pipelines based on the drilling conducted by a team of geologists from the University of the Philippines. Binay, however, said it was still too early to make a conclusion that the FPIC was to blame for the leak. FPIC, on the other hand, assured the public of its continued and full cooperation with authorities in locating the source of the petroleum seepage in the Bangkal area of Makati City. It is working hand in hand with the Makati City government in conducting excavations at the area to locate the actual source of the gas leak. “FPIC has conducted numerous excavations and a host of tests to determine the source of the seepage," Garde said in a statement issued Thursday. “The results of the tests have given leads on the possible origin of the seepage. We will focus on these leads and continue our excavation work on a 24-hour basis to locate the leak," he added. New leak Authorities discovered the leak at the basement of 22-storey West Tower condominium at the corner of South Super Highway and Del Pilar Street last July, but it was only on Thursday that excavation work around the area commenced. The excavation was conducted after the UP geologists discovered a new gas leak in the area, this time along the south-bound service road of Osmeña Highway in Barangay Bangkal, just a few meters from West Tower. In the dzBB interview, Garde said even if the leak is traced to their pipeline, there is no need to shut down the facility, saying repair would only take “hours." “Kung magre-repair kailangan lang itigil ang pipeline pero madali lang iyon (The repair of the affected pipeline is easy). It’s a matter of hours," he assured. The FPIC has two pipelines running underground, carrying gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel from refineries in Batangas to oil terminals in Pandacan and in Parañaque. Two of FPIC's largest clients are oil giants Chevron Philippines and Pilipinas Shell, which has earlier been reported to be suffering the most due to the gas leak. - KBK, GMANews.TV