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SAUDI OIL WELL GOES OFFLINE FOR A MONTH, 3M BPD FOREGONE
VOL. XXXIII • NO. 216 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
ABOUT three-million barrels per day of Saudi oil will remain offline for a month, about half the production halted by the weekend’s devastating attacks on key crude facilities, S&P Platts said Tuesday. The report came as oil prices dipped slightly following record gains Monday as uncertainty prevailed on global markets over when Saudi Arabia will be able to restore lost production. Strikes on Abqaiq—the world’s largest processing plant—and the Khurais oilfield that the US has blamed on Iran
have knocked out 5.7-million barrels per day, or 6 percent of global production. “At this point, it looks likely that around 3.0-million bpd of Saudi Arabian crude supply will be offline for at least a month,” S&P Global Platts said in a report. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman was scheduled late Tuesday to hold his first press conference since the attacks, with the expectation that he would give an update on efforts to restore lost production. Turn to A3
Oil surges; more imports eyed Energy chief taps PNOC to bring in buffer supply By Alena Mae S. Flores, Julito G. Rada and Vito Barcelo
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IL companies may stagger the expected increase in pump prices, which shot up by more than P2 per liter in the first two trading days this week after drone attacks on two Saudi refineries cut output by the world’s top exporter by half.
RAVINE TRAGEDY. In this photo taken by Michael Acas and downloaded from the Facebook account of Rolly Aquino, rescue workers stand next to a flatbed truck after it fell into a ravine in T’Boli, South Cotabato on Tuesday. Fifteen people, including children, were reported killed. AFP
20 die in T’boli as truck falls into ravine; nine more injured THE death toll in the road accident in T’boli, South Cotabato, has reached 20, the Office of Civil Defense in SOCCSKSARGEN said on Tuesday afternoon. OCD-12 regional director Minda Morante said nine other people were wounded in the accident, and that the victims were immediately brought to Upper Valley Hospital and the South C o t a b a t o Provincial Hospital. Agence FrancePresse earlier said
15 people, including children, were killed Tuesday in T’boli when the flatbed truck they were riding in plummeted into a ravine. The vehicle was bringing about 30 people home from a trip to the beach when the driver lost control in the latest deadly crash on the nation’s dangerous roads. “Based on eyewitness accounts, the truck lost its brakes. We will conduct further investigations on the actual cause,” T’boli town police investigator George Tabayan told AFP. Next page
COURTESY CALL. President
Rodrigo Duterte meets Monday with members of the Communist Party of China headed by Chongqing party chief Chen Min’er at Malacanang’s Music Room. Chen was in Davao City on Saturday and met with Duterte’s daughter Sara, where he signed a ‘letter of intent’ to forge a sister city pact between Chongqing and Davao City. Presidential Photo
‘Killer warden’ takes BuCor helm By MJ Blancaflor PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has designated former jail warden Gerald Bantag, who was charged with 10 counts of murder for a 2016 explosion at the Parañaque City Jail, as the new directorgeneral of the Bureau of Corrections. Bantag’s appointment came days after Duterte’s longtime aide Senator Christopher Go said the next BuCor chief should be a “killer.” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra
Bantag
said, the cases against Bantag are still pending in court. Guevarra told anila Standard that there is no issue in Bantag’s appointment since he has not yet been convicted. Bantag, who serves as regional director of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology MIMAROPA, was designated by the President as the new BuCor directorgeneral based on his professional competence and honesty, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement sent to reporters Tuesday. Next page
692 convicts avoid Pampanga sets ban to stay ASF-free shoot-to-kill order By Rey E. Requejo A TOTAL of 692 prisoners prematurely freed on account of the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law have turned themselves in to the authorities, two days before President Rodrigo Duterte’s shoot-to-kill order takes effect. Justice Uundersecretary Markk Perete said the 692 prisoners are in the custody of the Bureau of Corrections. The surrenders constitute about 36 percent of the total number of 1,914 PDLs who were convicted of heinous crimes but erroneously released by BuCor due to wrongful application of Republic Act 10592 or the expanded GCTA Law. President Duterte ordered their surrender or face warrantless arrest after Sept. 19. The new number of surrenderers came after 80 prisoners turned themselves over to the Philippine National Next page
WEATHER LPA turns into ‘Nimfa’ By Rio N. Araja XMAS COUNTDOWN. SM Supermalls has launched its annual 100 days to Christmas countdown which will feature exclusive holiday activities, promos and surprises from September to December. SM also has kicked off its Christmas Bears of Joy and #DearSMSanta, both centered on the spirit of gift-giving. In photo (from left) are Host Dimples Romana, Jose Mari Chan, Carol Sy, SM Supermalls COO Steven Tan, Grace Magno, and Chito Bauzon—with the Mandaluyong Children’s Choir.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, for his part, said he has formed a team to study the possibility of additional importation through the Philippine National Oil Company to ensure the country’s strategic oil reserve. “For the first day alone, it was already P2 for gasoline and P1.50 per liter for diesel,” an industry source said, adding that domestic prices were certain to climb further. “The coordinated strikes disrupted about half of Saudis oil capacity,” said Jesus Suntay, president of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association. While oil companies would try to cushion the impact by a staggered implementation, oil price increases are inevitable,” he added. The Department of Labor and Employment, meanwhile, said it is prepared to repatriate more than 50,000 Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia should the condition worsen there. Next page
A LOW-PRESSURE area east of Basco, Batanes, has developed into a tropical depression named “Nimfa” on Tuesday afternoon, Next page
GOVERNOR Dennis Pineda on Monday ordered a temporary ban on the entry of pigs into Pampanga from other areas in Luzon to ensure that the province will not be affected by African Swine Fever. Pineda said he issued Executive Order 34 to protect the multi-million hog industry and meat processors from the threat of the ASF and to safeguard public health. Next page
SWINE CHECK. A Manila city health official monitors and tests hogs Tuesday in a backyard piggery in the capital, after hundreds of pigs have mysteriously died in recent weeks before officials declared that the cause of swine deaths had been traced to African swine fever. AFP
Filipino dishes featured in London ANNUAL pop-up restaurant, Conflict Café, is returning to London this weekend—dubbed Peace day, Sept. 21—this time featuring food from the Philippines. Londoners will experience a oneof-a-kind Filipino salu-salo, typically Turn to A3