Update: Chevron Confirms Bunker Spill During Loading at Philippine Oil Depot

100 litres of bunkers were spilled on Tuesday during a loading operation at Chevron's San Pascual depot in the Philippines.

• Update: A previous version of this story stated that Chevron had confirmed the 100 litre volume. Ship & Bunker has since been told by Chevron Philippines it had not attributed that volume.

Chevron Philippines Inc (Chevron) has confirmed its responsibility for what is believed to be a 100 litre bunker spill at its San Pascual oil depot in Batangas, Philippines, which occurred at 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday while Chevron workers were loading bunkers on Sunrise Sampaguita, local media reports.

"The loading was immediately stopped and the leak was fully contained as of 7:00 p.m. after booms were immediately deployed at the site," Raissa Bautista, Manager of Policy, Government, and Public Affairs at Chevron.

"We are cooperating with the relevant government authorities, including the Philippine Coast Guard, about the incident."

The Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG's) Marine Environment Protection Command is said to have responded to the spill, with PGC noting that "the leaked product has so far been recovered from sea and the wharf platform."

While it is said that about 60 liters of bunker fuel and 5 drums of water mixture had been recovered, the PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said that a full clean up of the bay is still to be completed.

"Its (bunker fuel) chemical composition is bad for the sea," said Balilo.

The cause of the spill is reported to be currently under investigation by the PCG, including whether or not a "deteriorated" distribution pipeline was responsible for the oil spill.

The PCG says it is also in the process of determining potential fines that Chevron will face as a result of the spill, with a fine of P10,000 ($210.42) expected if the company is found guilty of neglect.

Further, the PCG is said to be reviewing the law, as it believes the fine to be insufficient.

In September, it was reported that an estimated 2,000 litres of bunker fuel had spilled into a river system in Rizal province in the Phillipines.