Demand for liquefied natural gas from generating companies and industries here has proven much stronger than expected, said S Iswaran, Minister at Prime Minister’s Office.
So much so that Singapore’s LNG aggregator, BG Group, now anticipates it will reach its franchised sales volume of three million tonnes per annum by next year, 11 years sooner than its agreement with the Energy Market Authority to be the sole seller of LNG here until 2023, or when it achieves three million tpa, whichever comes earlier.
Mr Iswaran, who disclosed this at EMA’s 10th anniversary dinner yesterday, said that with LNG set to play a larger and growing role in Singapore’s energy mix, EMA has already begun to study options for LNG procurement beyond the expiry of BG’s franchise.
BT earlier reported in August that EMA had called a tender for a consultant to set up an LNG procurement framework. Mr Iswaran, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, said yesterday that ‘EMA has appointed a consultant for this purpose and will launch an industry consultation in the first quarter of 2012.’
‘The aim is to establish an import framework that will allow us access to competitively-priced LNG from diversified sources.’
The opening of LNG imports here to more buyers – which also helps diversify Singapore’s fuel sources – will help the Republic meet challenges posed by global economic uncertainties in Europe and the US, as well as the changing energy landscape, like political upheaval in the Middle East/North Africa and the Fukushima nuclear incident. EMA must therefore persevere in its three-pronged strategy to promote a competitive energy market, enhance energy security and develop a dynamic energy sector, Mr Iswaran stressed.
Regarding the first, newcomer GMR Energy will enter the electricity market here in 2013, when its 800-megawatt plant starts up on Jurong Island.
EMA will facilitate the entry of more new power gencos and new plants to enhance the competitiveness of the industry, he said. ‘In addition, EMA will continue to review market rules and regulations to ensure the efficient functioning of the energy market.’
Mr Iswaran added that EMA ‘will also have to play a more active role in exploring alternative energy options for Singapore’.
