Definition of Refining.
ART. 74. Definition of Refining.—The term "Refining" means the processing or treating of petroleum by chemical or physical means for the purpose of making or separating marketable products; not including, however, such operations, separate from the foregoing, as gas compression, removal of noxious gases, crude oil stabilization or treatment for emulsion, or any other operation which has as its principal aim the avoidance of hazard or loss, or which, is incidental to production or to transportation.
Application for Refining Concession.
ART. 75. Application for Refining Concession.—Application for Refining Concession shall be filed with the Director of Mines in accordance with article twenty-eight of this Act.
When the granting of a Refining Concession is obligatory upon the Government by reason of the provisions of article eleven of this Act, and provided that the requirements of this Act and of the Regulations have been complied with, an application for Refining Concession filed as provided in article twenty-eight shall operate to confer upon the concessionaire all the rights and obligations which are conferred by this Act through such concession, pending the execution of the contract of concession. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may, in his discretion, grant a Refining Concession to any person duly qualified under the provisions of this Act even though he is not a holder of an Exploitation Concession. Likewise a refining concession may be granted to any person who, without being a holder of an Exploitation Concession discovers and registers with the Bureau of Mines under the provision of article sixty-five hereof, any natural deposit of oil or seep or emanation of gas.
Refining application fee.
ART. 76. Refining application fee.—When an application for a Refining Concession is filed, the applicant shall pay an application fee of two thousand pesos, in the manner prescribed by the Regulations. In the event that no concession is granted corresponding to such application, the sum paid shall be returned to the applicant less such amount as corresponds to the expenses incurred by the Government in connection with the consideration of the application as determined by the Regulations.
Rights conveyed under Refining Concession.
ART. 77. Rights conveyed under Refining Concession.— Refining Concession confers upon the concessionaire the non-exclusive right to provide facilities for the manufacture of, and to manufacture, petroleum products, subject to the provisions of this Act; and to carry out such auxiliary works and operations as are essential to the successful conduct of the undertaking, such as, but not limited to, the generation of steam and electricity; the treatment and use of water; the production or regeneration of chemicals used in manufacturing; the fabrication and filling of containers; the erection of shops, warehouses, and other buildings; the construction and operation of communication systems and roads within and for access to the works; and the provision and operation of facilities for receiving, storing, and shipping materials or products and for their transportation within or between parts of the works to which the concession relates.
It shall be understood that all auxiliary works and operations and the products thereof to which the rights provided to this article apply, shall be for the exclusive use of the concessionaire in the operation of his concession or concessions subject to the limitations set forth in article seventy-eight hereof: Provided, however, That all roads and bridges constructed by the concessionaire except those within the compound of the refinery, shall be available for public use, except when otherwise agreed upon between the Secret of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the concessionaire.
Utilization of refining capacity.
ART. 78. Utilization of refining capacity.—The holder of a Refining Concession shall have the preferential right to utilize his installations for the refining or manufacture petroleum produced by him from his concession, but is obligated to utilize any remaining capacity for the refining or manufacture, pro rata, of such other petroleum as may bi offered by others for refining or manufacture, and to charge without discrimination such rates as may have been approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
When a refining concessionaire is also an exploitation concessionaire, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may require that the royalty in kind due to the Government from the same concessionaire, or an equivalent amount of petroleum of the Government from other sources, be refined or manufactured, pro rata, with that owned by the refining concessionaire, up to the capacity of the installation; and in all cases petroleum owned by the Government shall have priority over all other petroleum for the utilization of the refining or manufacturing capacity in excess of that required to refine or manufacture petroleum owned by the refining concessionaire.
Procedure for the determination of refining rates and the conditions governing the refining of petroleum other than that owned by the refining concessionaire shall conform to the Regulations.
Petroleum produced under this Act shall given refinery preference.
ART. 79. Petroleum produced under this Act shall given refinery preference.—Any established refinery may be required by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources to refine crude petroleum produced in the Philippines in preference over any imported crude petroleum.
Term of Refining Concession.
ART. 80. Term of Refining Concession.—The term or Refining Concession shall not exceed twenty-five years counted from the date of its issuance, renewable for another twenty-five years, upon application of the concessionaire filed prior to the expiration of the origin
ART. 81. Right to establish a refinery may be ceded but concessionaire may be required to establish a refinery under- certain conditions.—An exploitation concessionaire may assign, transfer, or cede his right to establish a refinery in the Philippines granted him under article eleven of this Act in favor of any person qualified under the provisions of this Act, upon prior written permission of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources. However, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may, after due study of the economic and technical problems involved on the part of the exploitation concessionaire and of the need of the Philippines for a suitable refinery, require an exploitation concessionaire, after he shall have developed a recoverable petroleum reserve of one hundred forty million barrels or more in any one or more of his concessions granted under this Act, capable of maintaining a production rate of ten thousand barrels a day for at least fifteen years, to establish in the Philippines a refinery of a capacity which shall be not less than ten thousand barrels per day.
Renunciation of Refining Concession.
ART. 82. Renunciation of Refining Concession.—Any Refining Concession may be renounced at any time, except when the undertaking to build a refinery is imposed upon an Exploitation Concessionaire under the provisions of articles nineteen and eighty-one of this Act, in which case, the renunciation shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Renunciation extinguishes all rights granted by the concession, but does not relieve the concessionaire from making any Payments due to the Government.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
