Brunei - Brunei to gain from energy summit

Brunei stands to benefit greatly from its participation at the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW 2011), said the top officials of Brunei on Monday.

Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohd Yasmin Hj Umar told The Brunei Times yesterday in an interview on the sidelines of the energy summit that Brunei would be able to learn a lot by the end of the week, which could be applied in the Sultanate's future strategic plan on the oil and gas industry.

"This energy week will give us an up-to-date and accurate assessment of what the outlook of oil and gas clusters, oil and gas demand and the future on its market," he said.

This is the energy minister's second time attending SIEW, where last year he was one of the speakers. He said he was also expecting to hear about the future of oil and gas and its prices and demand and hydro-electric car markets, among others.

"It (SIEW 2011) is a good platform to give you the setting on energy and what is the expected directions for today and the next few days. There are a lot of good speakers here, and I think this is the only forum in this region that will expose you to the real sense of what an energy conference is all about," he said.

"The biggest headache for all energy ministers is the energy mix," he said.

"What is the future of energy going to be? Is it going to be renewables or hydrocarbon based, or a combination of both?"

In this regard, Pehin Dato Hj Mohd Yasmin said it is pertinent that Brunei sustain its energy for the future.

"This is why we must have good conservation. We must now develop areas which we need to develop, and to invest in new technology. People must understand there is no more easy oil, so we need to be innovative and make use of technology to extract the oil out," he said.

Asked how Brunei can achieve sustainability and security in the future despite its abundance in oil and natural gas, he said, "Brunei must maximise the country's three strategic objectives, which are; to increase our upstream and downstream activities and diversifying more into downstream, to ensure sustainability of supply, and maximisation of economic activities from the oil and gas industry to the people of Brunei."

Based on what was discussed by policy makers and industry players yesterday during the Energy lecture and Summit, Pehin Dato Hj Mohd Yasmin shared one point that there are still a lot of uncertainties in the price of oil, and hence it will remain volatile.

"The future in energy is very uncertain, as there are a lot of ifs. One example is that people do not want to predict where the price of oil will stand in the future, Is it over $100, or less? So where is the lesson learnt for us? It is that we cannot take hydrocarbon for granted, we must find ways and means to diversify it," he said.

Asked on the current progress of Brunei's involvement in the Asean Power Grid, the minister said, "If you look at our neighbour Sarawak, there are issues that we need to discuss in terms of harmonisation of connectivity. The momentum is there so let's see."

In response to a question whether Brunei would look into electricity trading within the region in the near future as the potential mutual benefits for electricity trading as was underscored by Singapore's Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, S Iswaran during his opening speech at SIEW 2011, Pehin Dato Hj Mohd Yasmin said: "Interconnectivity within Asean is quite sectorial. For example, you have Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, and practicality of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in another grouping, and Brunei and Sarawak in Borneo where hydroelectricity as a source of power. Brunei wants to be self-sufficient first, then we will tap into electricity trading later."

During a summit on Power Trends in Southeast Asia, Malaysian Minister at the Prime Minister's Office Datuk Seri Idris Jala shared that in Malaysia's electricity tariff system, "anyone who uses 100 kWh per month is free. If you use between 100 kWh to 300 kWh, you are not affected."

The Malaysian minister noted the tier benefits between 40 to 70 per cent of their population, and that those who have high power consumption should pay for it.

In Brunei, the initial 500 kWh power consumption is US$5 under the new tariff system come January.

However in Malaysia, the first 500 kWh is equivalent to US$65.

Pehin Dato Hj Mohd Yasmin said Brunei's new power rates are still the cheapest in region.

Rachel Thien

The Brunei Times

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