Trans-ASEAN gas grid on schedule despite slowdown: project chief

Trans-ASEAN gas grid on schedule despite slowdown: project chief

Julia Yeow Agence France-Presse Kuala Lumpur

Work on a regional gas project linking the national networks of Southeast Asian countries is on track despite the global economic slowdown, the project chief said Tuesday.

Mohd Farid Mohd Amin, chief coordinator of the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline (TAGP) taskforce, attributed this to the undiminished need for cheaper and more efficient energy sources in the region.

The network, which will link the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is due to be completed in 2015 at an estimated cost of US$7 billion, excluding drilling.

"The slowdown might impact the scheduling of the project, but work will not be greatly hindered because member countries still need energy and want to expand their energy sources," Farid told AFP.

"We are currently on track and will continue to use all the resources we have.

"We already have all the support from the governments, from the officials, so the ingredients are already there. Now (we are waiting) for the relevant parties to come in," he said.

Despite his optimism over the scheduled completion of the 4,000-kilometer pipeline, Farid acknowledged there were many obstacles ahead.

The gas grid project, besides facing problems in terms of regulatory, legal and environmental cross-border issues, would now have to deal with the rise in costs after the economic downturn, he said.

"In view of the relatively high cost of delivering this natural gas, a creative win-win arrangement for gas sellers and buyers and more cost effective technology is necessary," Farid earlier told an ASEAN Council on Petroleum conference here.