MANILA, Philippines – Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. will respect the Supreme Court ruling on the closure of the Pandacan oil depot, and will continue to comply with the order, the oil firm said in a statement Friday.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled with finality that the Pandacan oil depot in Manila must be closed down, and reiterated its order to Chevron, Petron Corp., and Shell to submit within 90 days a comprehensive plan for the relocation of their respective storage facilities.

The high court also reiterated its order to Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to implement a city ordinance that reclassified the Pandacan and Sta. Ana districts from industrial to commercial which effectively ruled out the continued existence of the Pandacan oil depot.

In a statement, Shell said that with the Supreme Court ruling, “relocation shall now be a more difficult and challenging process, as there is no assurance that the next local government host will not evict the depots.”

“The realities of spot zoning and the lack of counterpart legal and national regulatory policy for the establishment and relocation of petroleum depots and terminals will now deprive the oil industry of any clear alternatives,” Shell further explained.

Shell said it has always maintained that its Pandacan depot operations were safe and secure; compliant with both local and international standards and that the public concerns on safety and security have been and would be continuously addressed.

“We likewise continue to monitor developments in the City Council of Manila [Sanggunian] specifically regarding draft Ordinance 7177, which creates a medium industrial zone and heavy industrial zone in the area of Pandacan which will allow the continued stay of the Pandacan Terminals. We note that the Supreme Court’s March 2007 decision made reference to this possibility,” Shell said.

Meanwhile, the oil company said it would continue to work closely with the City of Manila, the Department of Energy and our customers and suppliers to find ways to minimize the disruption that would result with the closure of the Pandacan depot.

As early as May 2008, Shell submitted a Pandacan Comprehensive Relocation Plan to Branch 39 of the Manila RTC, together with joint venture partners under the Pandacan Depot Services Inc., Chevron and Petron.

The relocation plan outlined key considerations in site selection, site options, timelines, government support required and facilities required to meet health, safety, security, and environment standards.

“Further, in April 2009, we submitted updates on the Relocation Plan, in compliance with the Manila RTC order,” Shell added.