MANILA, June 17 (Reuters) - Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp
said on Wednesday it has resumed construction of an
integrated hydrogen manufacturing facility at its Tabangao
refinery in the Philippines, after being hampered by the
coronavirus lockdown.
Restrictions on movement have been eased in Philippine
provinces and cities with low coronavirus cases to help restore
business activity in the Southeast Asian economy.
The local unit of Shell had planned to complete the
project this year in partnership with Air Liquide Philippines
Inc.
"We intend to complete the project promptly," a company
spokesperson told Reuters. "However, we would need to consider,
adopt and adapt to new labour safety restrictions, and assess
the impact these would have on our completion timelines."
The facility, which will be the first of its kind in the
country, will enable the 110,000-barrel-per-day Tabangao
refinery in Batangas City, south of the capital Manila, to
process more crude oil varieties into quality fuels.
Operations at the Tabangao refinery have been suspended
indefinitely due to poor domestic fuel demand and refining
margins caused by the lockdown.
(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)