The oil tanker "Sara Sky", flying the flag of Sierra Leone and loaded with high-quality Russian crude oil from the "Espoo" pipeline, arrived on Monday with documents showing that the consignee is "Petron Corp", which operates the only oil refinery in the Philippines, a source who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media clarified. The Philippines heavily relies on imported fuel, which has reached record levels since the American-Israeli war with Iran led to the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A journalist from AFP on Thursday saw the "Sara Sky" docked in Limay port near Manila, where Petron's refinery is located. This is the first shipment of Russian oil to arrive in the Philippines in five years, media reported. Last week, Ramon Ang, CEO of Petron, told AFP that the company is "in talks" for a possible purchase of Russian oil, and on Thursday he refused to confirm the arrival of the shipment. On Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos said the Philippines is making wide-ranging efforts in its search for fuel, as the country's stocks are expected to last only 45 days. He added at a press conference: "We are not limiting ourselves to our traditional oil suppliers, we are trying to explore other sources not affected by the ongoing war in the Middle East. Nothing is ruled out. We are studying everything we can do."
