Stahl Brenn Signs Binding 99-Year Lease for 200-Hectare Fuel Storage Hub Near Sangley Point

CAVITE CITY, Philippines — Stahl Brenn Group, LLC and ARC Megawide Dev’t Co. Ltd. have signed a binding 99-year ground lease for the reclamation and development of a large petroleum tank storage facility on a coastal site of up to 200 hectares in Cavite City.

The agreement took effect on the date of last signature, May 22, 2026. It was executed by Robert Crewe, chief operating officer of Stahl Brenn Group, and Arvin T. Crisostomo, president and chief executive officer of ARC Megawide.

The lease covers Phase 1 only: exclusive control of an area of as much as 200 hectares off Cavite City’s western shoreline, in the waters near Sangley Point and the Sangley Airport access corridor. The site sits along a stretch of Manila Bay that has been the subject of reclamation proposals for decades. Under the contract, Stahl Brenn holds a 100 percent leasehold interest for the sole purpose of reclaiming land and building, financing, operating, and maintaining a petroleum tank farm. Other uses, including housing, tourism, mixed-use real estate, and aviation development, are excluded.

Sponsors say the project is intended to add significant bulk-liquid storage capacity in the Philippines and to compete with established regional hubs such as Singapore’s Jurong Island and other major tank farms that now dominate product storage and blending in Southeast Asia. A facility of this scale near existing maritime approaches, they argue, could reduce reliance on distant terminals and position Cavite as a more competitive logistics node for refined products.

The development is also framed as a local transformation play. Reclaiming and industrializing a 200-hectare waterfront parcel would convert unused foreshore into operating energy infrastructure, with project backers projecting thousands of jobs in construction, engineering, marine works, operations, security, and supporting services over the life of the facility.

Negotiations were protracted. Stahl Brenn officials said the lessor pressed for terms they regarded as unreasonable, and talks nearly stalled. “While it was a difficult and challenging negotiations,” Stahl Brenn management said during the process, “the agreement is solid and was written to prevent ARC’s circumvention,” according to Mr. Crewe. The parties ultimately closed a contract that Stahl Brenn describes as exclusive for the Phase 1 site and structured to lock in site control for the tank-storage use.

The lease is binding. It includes a significant breakup fee if a material default leads to termination. Exclusivity applies only to the Phase 1 area of up to 200 hectares; any rights beyond that phase would require a separate written deal.

“This project is long overdue, and we are one of the first companies to find a real solution of this property which benefits the people of the Philippines,” Mr. Crewe said.

The arrangement is a long-term leasehold, not a sale of land. Stahl Brenn’s full development obligations remain subject to its acceptance of an independent environmental and feasibility study. Disputes that cannot be settled by negotiation are to go to arbitration in Singapore.