Philippines tapping oil stocks in Thailand, Indonesia

November 16, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is exploring access to emergency oil stocks in Indonesia and Thailand to bolster its energy security as the months-long Middle East war continues to disrupt global fuel supplies.

State-run PNOC Exploration Corp. has signed separate letters of intent (LOIs) with Indonesia’s PT Interport Mandiri Utama and The Shell Co. of Thailand Ltd. to explore possible cooperation on oil ticketing mechanisms.

Also signatories to the LOIs were the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the Indonesian Business Council, which will serve as knowledge partners for the parties.

The preliminary agreements will facilitate pilot projects to explore the use of existing oil storage facilities in Indonesia and Thailand to give the Philippines access to petroleum reserves during supply disruptions.

Under an oil-ticketing arrangement, a participating entity pays for the right to access oil stored in another country during an emergency, subject to agreed conditions.

This could offer the Philippines an alternative to establishing new storage facilities and procuring additional oil stocks upfront.

The proposed pilot projects were announced over the weekend at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Manila.

This initiative comes as the Philippines works to build its own government-maintained oil reserves, with PNOC targeting the completion of the first storage tank by end-2027.

Critics have raised concerns, however, over the high costs of building and maintaining domestic reserves, warning that these expenses could eventually be passed on to consumers.

Alongside efforts to build its own emergency reserves, the Philippines has also pushed for regional cooperation on joint oil stockpiling amid growing energy security concerns.

In its study on the ASEAN oil stockpiling strategy, ERIA examines how countries can combine national reserves, oil-ticketing arrangements and joint stockpiling.

It also outlines a phased approach to putting the strategy in place.

The study found that the region could save about $610 million annually in oil stockholding costs by increasing the volume of joint reserves from 10 to 30 days while maintaining the same overall stock levels.

“Most ASEAN member states have relatively limited emergency oil stocks, highlighting the need for stronger preparedness and regional cooperation,” ERIA said.

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