Trans-ASEAN gas project on schedule

Trans-ASEAN gas project on schedule

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.

The proposed establishment of an ASEAN gas consulting
committee and gas center would also facilitate the resolution of
cross-border issues and help resolve the problems faced by the
project, he told AFP.

Farid said the implementation of the project would spur
further economic development within member countries, which in
turn would create opportunities for gas- and petrol-related
businesses in the region.

Gas would remain as the fuel of choice in the region over coal
despite its higher price per unit, he said.

"If you look at cost competitiveness, and not solely on unit
price of coal versus gas, and compare the price of processing and
generating energy from the two, gas is still competitive compared
to coal."

He added gas would still be the preferred source of energy
over coal or oil because of environmental factors.

"If gas infrastructure can be developed, then we can replace
coal or oil because it's cleaner," he said.

"All we need to do is build it up, and that is what we hope to
achieve with this project."

The TAGP and the ASEAN power grid, which hopes to set up a
regional interconnection power line between member countries,
make up the proposed Trans-ASEAN energy network.

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