John Alfred A.

Ceniza February 17, 2021

BSME – 5
ME75A: ME LAWS, ETHICS, CODES & STANDARDS

ASSIGNMENT NO. 3

Bataan is a province in the Philippines

situated in the Central Luzon region. Its
capital is the City of Balanga. Occupying the
entire Bataan Peninsula on Luzon, Bataan is
bordered by the provinces of Zambales and
Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces
the South China Sea to the west and Subic
Bay to the north-west, and encloses Manila
Bay to the east.

Implementation of R.A. 8495 in Bataan

Petron Bataan refinery is the largest refinery in the Philippines with a
production capacity of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd). Located within the Limay
municipality of Bataan province, it processes crude oil to produce a full range of
petroleum products, including gasoline, jet fuel, industrial fuel oil, diesel, kerosene
and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Oil refineries serve an important role

in the production of transportation and other
fuels. The crude oil components, once
separated, can be sold to different industries
for a broad range of purposes. Lubricants
can be sold to industrial plants immediately
after distillation, but other products require
more refining before reaching the final user.
Major refineries have the capacity to process
hundreds of thousand barrels of crude oil
daily.
Violations
This news article is dated back at September 01, 2008, where a worker died
in Bataan’s refinery plant. The police and company officials said, an oil refinery
worker was killed due to suffocation and another was left unconscious after being
exposed to toxic gas at the Philippines’ largest oil and gas complex. Petron released
a statement that it is suspected that both personnel were exposed to hydrogen
sulphide gas while draining a collecting drum of the sour water facility. Based on the
reports, there is a possibility that the plant mechanics didn’t wear their personal
protect equipment properly.
Other Issues
Accreditation with the Bataan Freeport which entails tax perks will address
Petron’s tax woes, which company president Ramon Ang said was the main reason
why the refinery was in danger of having to shut down permanently. Petron Corp.
threatens to close Philippine refinery due to a move by the government to
progressively increase import taxes.
According to Petron, a permanent closure of the refinery would affect 1,000 workers
directly employed as well as more than 2,500 others who work in at least 25 third-
party service providers.
The closure of Bataan would leave the Philippines as one of only three countries in
the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations region without any domestic
refineries, together with underdeveloped Cambodia and Laos, raising questions over
fuel supply security.
Alongside confirming Ang’s reasoning for the refinery’s planned shutdown in its PSE
filings, Petron also confirmed Ang’s assurance that the Bataan site “would resume
commercial operations if and when the economy improves.”

REFERENCES:
https://v2v.lga.gov.ph/province/info/bataan#:~:text=Bataan%20is%20a%20province
%20in,and%20Pampanga%20to%20the%20north.
https://www.reuters.com/article/philippines-accident-idUKMAN22275920080901
https://www.ogj.com/refining-processing/refining/operations/article/14189356/petron-
to-idle-bataan-refinery-indefinitely
https://business.inquirer.net/315574/petron-averts-permanent-shutdown-of-bataan-
refinery#ixzz6mh26C9fL
https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2148307-petron-threatens-to-close-philippine-
refinery-update