MANILA, Philippines - Fuel retailer Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. is maintaining its oil depot operations in the largely residential area of Pandacan.

Shell country manager Edgar Chua said they are not looking to move as they are still satisfied with their current location.

Chua admitted that Petron Corp. has approached them on the possibility of relocating their depot to the Manila North Harbor Terminal.

Petron chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang had earlier indicated they were planning to move to the North Harbor, and would like Shell and Chevron Philippines to join them so they could split relocation costs.

But Shell expressed concern about the costs, saying it would rather scale down its Pandacan operations.

The relocation issue arose from a Manila City local council's ordinance, Ordinance 8027, that changed the zoning of the Pandacan depot to commercial from industrial. The councilors cited health and safety reasons since the oil facilities are located in the middle of the metropolis.

The oil companies contested the legality of Ordinance 8027 for being discriminatory. They said that local zoning ordinances should be community wide and not targeted at specific projects or companies.

In May last year, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim signed Ordinance 7177, repealing Ordinance 8027 and allowing oil depots to remain in Pandacan. - With ANC