Shell unit shuts Philippine refinery as pandemic slashes margins

The Philippine unit of Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday it will permanently shut one of the country's two oil refineries, blaming a pandemic-led slump in margins, with other regional closures likely to follow, according to analysts. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp said its 110,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Tabangao facility in Batangas province, which began operations in 1962, was no longer economically viable and would be turned into an import terminal. "We definitely see the possibility of more closures in Asia over the next 6-12 months," said Mia Geng, consultant at FGE, adding that refineries in Japan, Australia and New Zealand could be likely candidates for closure.