ASEAN gas pipeline closer to reality, claims official

ASEAN gas pipeline closer to reality, claims official

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): A natural gas pipeline connecting
Southeast Asian countries could become a reality by 2010, a
senior official overseeing the project said on Tuesday.

"The authorities have set a target date of 2010 for completion
of the trans-ASEAN gas pipeline (TAGP). It can be done," Mohd
Farid Amin, lead coordinator of TAGP task force, told Reuters in
an interview.

Energy and industry ministers of the 10-member Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting in Bangkok in July
resolved to hasten implementation of an action agenda at the
December 1998 ASEAN summit and adopted an interim action plan for
energy cooperation running to 2004.

"The first major hurdle has been overcome when the ASEAN
member countries collectively agreed to move this project
together," Mohd Farid said.

"Malaysia and Indonesia particularly want to develop it fast.
We want to plan ahead and hope to shorten the time for realizing
this project. We have to do it fast as by the next decade oil
reserves in the region will be depleted. So we have to rely more
and more on gas.

"It's only that we need support from the governments to
encourage the usage of more gas," he said.

ASEAN has proven reserves of about 230 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas, he said.

Mohd Farid said whilst inter-connection may not pose serious
problems to ASEAN member nations due to the existence of a basic
gas delivery system, there are a number of key issues which have
yet to be resolved.

These include cross-border issues, legal matters as well as
financial, environmental and technical factors.

ASEAN groups Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos,
Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Mohd Farid said with regional economies coming out of the
recession, some of the projects can get back on track.

"To realize this mega projects, billions of U.S. dollars
investments would have to be made," he said.

Thailand last month approved a proposal to invest in a $1.03
billion natural gas project with Malaysia's national oil firm
Petronas involving the building of a 352-km (220-mile) gas
pipeline and a gas separation plant.

The project involves development of natural gas from fields in
Thailand's and Malaysia's overlapping Joint Development Area. The
pipeline will transmit gas from the area to southern Thailand.

The Thais will start taking gas from the field in 2002 at an
initial two-three million cubic feet per day.

"The economic downturn has affected gas demand in Thailand.
The Thailand part of the project under phase two will be done
later. The Malaysian part of the project is expected to be
completed in 2001," Mohd Farid said.

Other projects include the development of the Yetagun gas
project which will land gas from the fields in Myanmar to
Thailand and the West Natuna project, expected to be completed in
2001, involving supply of gas from offshore Indonesia to
Singapore.

Petronas president and chief executive Hassan Marican told an
energy forum on Tuesday that these developments were bringing the
trans-ASEAN gas pipeline project closer to reality.

"What is left is our determination, commitment and cooperation
to fill in the missing links to realize the project," Hassan
said.

Mohd Farid said gas development projects in the Philippines
and Vietnam were still in their early stage. "But the fact is
that they want to use the gas. The drive is there," he said.