U.S. seeks Philippine fuel storage site in Mindanao

April 13, 2026

Summary

A U.S. agency sought fuel storage capacity in Mindanao, with Philippine officials saying the site would stay under Manila’s control.

Why this matters

The planned facility would expand fuel storage and refueling capacity for U.S. forces in the Philippines under existing bilateral agreements. It also shows how logistics infrastructure is being developed in the southern Philippines alongside sites already used on Luzon.

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency plans to store millions of gallons of ship and aircraft fuel in the southern Philippines, according to U.S. and Philippine officials.

A March 31 solicitation from the agency outlined plans for a fuel storage facility in or near Davao on Mindanao. Starting in April 2028, the contractor would provide 41 million gallons of storage capacity, including 23 million gallons of naval fuel and 18 million gallons of aviation fuel.

The contract would cover 24-hour receiving, storing, protecting, testing, and shipping of U.S. government-owned fuel, according to the notice.

Commercial fuel is already stored at Subic Bay, the former U.S. naval base on Luzon. A Mindanao facility would give U.S. forces another refueling point in the region in addition to Subic Bay and Manila.

Rear Adm. George Bresnihan, commander of the Defense Logistics Agency’s energy division, visited fuel storage sites in Australia and Papua New Guinea in September, according to a Nov. 24 agency news release.

“DLA Energy exists to provide America’s warfighters with timely and reliable access to fuel,” he said in the release. “Maintaining a decentralized network of fuel support points enables our team to deliver global energy solutions for sustained operational readiness.”

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, a Philippine military spokesman, told reporters Friday at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City that the proposed Mindanao site would remain under Manila’s ownership and control.

The project is covered by existing agreements, including the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which grants U.S. forces access to nine sites in the Philippines, he said, according to a report published Friday in the Manila Bulletin.

“These will still be Philippine facilities, Philippine-controlled facilities,” he said. “They are designed to support our response capability for [humanitarian assistance and disaster response], maritime security and support, and sustain our forces deployed, not only in the West Philippine Sea, but even in the southern border.”

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