ASEAN energy needs $180b investment

ASEAN energy needs $180b investment

SINGAPORE (Agencies): Southeast Asia needs nearly US$180
billion in investments over the next 10 years to fully develop
its energy sector, a conference was told Thursday.

Investment opportunities lay in power generation, renewable
energy and the development of a natural gas pipeline to traverse
the 10 countries comprising the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), an expert told the gathering.

Guillermo Balce, executive director of the ASEAN Centre for
Energy, said the region's energy needs will grow by 58.8 percent
to 581.37 million metric tons of oil equivalent (MTOE) in 2010
from 366.01 MTOE this year.

Indonesia's requirements alone will grow by 89.6 percent, he
said.

Despite efforts to lessen dependence, oil will continue to
play a dominant role in the energy mix for the region, accounting
for 56-57 percent of the total, Balce said.

Oil demand is projected to increase by 62.4 percent from this
year to 334.02 MTOE by 2010.

Demand for natural gas, a cheaper and cleaner alternative for
the oil-importing region, is to rise at a slower rate of 29.74
percent.

"The total amount of investment that may be required for the
next 10 years in Southeast Asia is about $180 billion," he told
the conference on opportunities in the sector in ASEAN organised
by Singapore Power.

"This is enough business for each one of us in this room,
granting that each of us could raise half a billion U.S dollars
to invest in the various aspects of the energy industry in
Southeast Asia."

Power generation alone would require investments of $87.5
billion by 2010 with installed power capacity for the region seen
to grow nearly 50 percent to 142,273.2 megawatts, Balce said.

Thailand will require $21 billion, Vietnam $18.5 billion and
Indonesia about $18 billion in power generation, he said.

The trans-ASEAN gas pipeline would need at least $10 billion
to become a reality.

Investments in renewable energy such as biomass, hydro, solar
and wind power are estimated at $3.6 billion, Balce said.

An additional $77.65 billion in investments are needed to put
in place energy efficiency measures.

This is significant because of forecasts that coal will
account for 42 percent of power generation needs in 2010, Balce
said.

ASEAN groups 10 diverse countries in Southeast Asia, from
affluent Singapore to economic backwaters Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar
and Vietnam. The other ASEAN members are Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry George Yeo told the
same conference that " his country is prepared to invest in
commercially viable electricity interconnection projects under
the Asean power grid.

Singapore is considering such investment in "general terms,"
with no specific projects currently in the pipeline, Yeo said on
the sidelines of the Third Asean Energy Business Forum.
Investments would depend, in part, on the regulatory conditions
of each county, he said.

Citing recent Indonesian-Singaporean gas cooperation projects,
Yeo said in a speech to delegates that Singapore "will do its
part to bring about great economic cooperation in the energy
industry."

An Association of Southeast Asian Nations power grid will help
optimize energy resources, make power generation more cost
effective, spur the liberalization of national electricity
markets and attract more private sector investment, he said.

Yeo called for the private sector to take a more active role
in building and financing infrastructure.