President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Southeast Asian nations to activate and test their fuel-sharing pact, citing vulnerabilities exposed by the Middle East conflict for import-dependent economies. The Department of Energy said another round of fuel rollbacks remains possible next week, though officials cautioned against assuming the downtrend will hold amid global oil market volatility. DOE also ordered fuel firms to report storage capacities to prepare for disruptions.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made the call at the Asia Zero Emission Community Plus summit hosted by Japan. He said the Philippines was willing to host or co-chair the first emergency simulation exercise under the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement.
At home, the Department of Energy said another round of fuel rollbacks remains possible next week. Officials cautioned there is no assurance the downtrend will hold as global oil market volatility persists.
The DOE ordered fuel firms and storage operators to report their total and available storage capacity as part of efforts to monitor buffer space and prepare for possible supply disruptions. The directive covers downstream oil industry participants that own, lease or operate terminals and depots. It also allows the coordinated use of available storage facilities by the Philippine National Oil Company and PNOC Exploration Corp., subject to technical feasibility.
Price benchmarks for Thursday, April 16, remain valid from the April 14 rollback, with no new advisories issued.
