DOE starts constructing FPIC bypass pipeline

Saying the leakage of a fuel pipe of the First Philippine Industrial Corp. has reached crisis proportion, the Department of Energy (DOE) started constructing a bypass pipe to transport fuel from Batangas to Manila. DOE Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the construction of the bypass pipe may take around three weeks, roughly the amount of time needed to pinpoint the exact source of leak. “Ang opinion ko, we are in a crisis situation. Rather than hintaying subukan ito, subukan iyan or a linear approach, gusto ko mangyari is sabay-sabay. Habang nag-aantay ng tagas gawin ang plano for bypass so if one plan does not work we have other plans," Almendras said in an interview on dwIZ radio. (My opinion is that we are in a crisis situation. Rather than wait for the source of the leak to be located, we should start working on other solutions. That way, if one solution does not work, we have other options) “For safety considerations mas mabuti mag-overreact rather than magsisi in the future (For safety considerations it will be better to overreact than be sorry in the future)," he added. The FPIC has two main pipelines transporting petroleum products from oil refineries in Batangas to terminals in Pandacan, Manila. The Lopez-owned FPIC has a 25-year concession to transport crude and refined petroleum products until 2017. The damaged pipeline is FPIC's 117-kilometer “white line" that carries gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products. Its other pipeline, called the “black line," transports heavier petroleum products. Almendras explained that the three-week construction period for the bypass pipeline includes the time needed to search for parts to replace damaged ones or even fabricating parts if these are not readily available. He said DOE workers have already started plotting the path of the bypass pipe and determining the materials to be used. “Last night they were trying to align, saan dadaanin, anong pyesa kailangan (As of Tuesday night our people were trying to align the bypass pipe, where it would pass, what parts are needed), they are trying to identify the possible kind of pipe fittings are needed," he said. "They are trying to check if the fittings are available anywhere in the world," he added. He noted that the three-week timetable is almost the same as the expected amount of time needed to pinpoint and repair of the leaking portion of the FPIC pipeline. Teams are now digging along the FPIC pipeline’s path to determine the source of the fuel leak. In the meantime, the pipeline has been shut down, raising fears of a fuel shortage in Metro Manila. Makati City overpass Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assured the public on Wednesday that foundation of the Magallanes overpass in Makati City will be kept secure while digging efforts are being undertaken in its vicinity. DPWH Undersecretary Romeo Momo said DPWH personnel are now monitoring the digging and are ready to stop the operation once it gets too close to the foundation of the Magallanes Overpass. “Hanggang di maapektuhan ang foundation ng flyover pahintulutan natin. Pero pag nasa ilalim ng importanteng major part ng ating tulay lalo sa foundation, siguro di na natin papayagan," Momo said in an interview on dzBB radio. (As long as the foundation of the flyover will not be affected we will allow the digging. But once the digging gets near the foundation or the structure itself, we will stop the digging) Momo said DPWH personnel are “embedded" in the teams involved in the digging of the FPIC 40-year-old pipeline. In a “24 Oras" report, the FPIC said the gas leak may have been caused by stress exerted on its pipeline by the Magallanes Interchange. The flyover has a daily heavy volume of vehicles. The structure itself is heavy, the FPIC noted. FPIC workers have thus made a two meter-wide excavation along Osmeña Highway, at the foot of the 500-meter Magallanes Interchange. The Magallanes Interchange was built in the 1970s. At that time, the FPIC already expressed apprehensions about the building of such a structure on top of their pipeline. Meanwhile, Momo added that the FPIC agreed to pay for any damages brought about by the digging operation. The flyover was built in the 1970s after the pipeline had been laid in that part of Makati City, Momo noted. “So far meron tayong mga tao riyan tinatalaga doon, guide sila kung saan dadaan. So far sa ngayon ang part na yan di pa delikado o naapektuhan sa ating foundation (So far we have people there. The DPWH people will guide the digging teams where not to dig. So far we have seen no threat to any foundation of any structure)," he said. Relocating the pipeline Momo said the DPWH is in favor of having FPIC relocate its pipeline, but admitted it will be difficult because Makati City is now highly urbanized. “It would be better to relocate it but at this time mahirapan sila maghanap ng lugar paglalagyan ito lalo na’t highly urbanized na yan (It would be better to relocate the pipeline but it will be hard to do so now because Makati has become highly urbanized)," he said. Other solutions Meanwhile, Almendras said other solutions are being used to address the problem, including an arrangement for Shell to use barges to transfer its fuel from Batangas to Manila. He also said the DOE is talking to another oil facility with a “very good" unloading facility as an alternative to Pandacan in Manila. “We are talking to another oil facility with a very good unloading facility na di pa fully utilized, di kailangan ang Pandacan. Hinahanapan ng paraan para mapabilis ang pagpadala ng fuel sa Metro Manila (We are talking to an oil facility that is not being fully used, as an alternative to Pandacan, just so we can bring fuel to Metro Manila)," he said. Earlier, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority exempted fuel trucks that will deliver petroleum products from Batangas to Metro Manila from the regular truck ban. Ready for class suit Almendras also mentioned that the DOE is ready to respond to a class suit being planned by residents of the West Tower Condominium, who were evacuated from the building in July because of an oil leak at the basement. “Of course we’ll have to respond to it. In fairness to them I know na-inconvenience sila (they were inconvenienced) ... We are just trying to do what we can in resolving the problem as soon as we can," he said. The FPIC first shut down the pipeline on July 12 but reopened it on July 15. It closed the pipeline for the second time on July 21 but opened it again on July 24. On July 29, the Energy Department and the Makati government both cleared the FPIC. The DOE then said FPIC had nothing to do with the gas leak at West Tower. The company shut down the pipeline for the third time on October 28 to determine the source of petroleum leak at the West Tower Condominium along Osmeña Highway, Barangay Bangkal, Makati City. The excavation began only after geologists of the University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS) discovered another oil 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. –VVP, GMANews.TV