Imports too much oil for regional security
Asean
is being urged to speed up construction of gas pipelines and power grids to
enhance energy security.
Greater
collaboration is needed, as 40-50% of the region relies on oil imports, said
Busba Wongnapapisan, head of the World Economic Forum's renewable energy
industry.
"Countries
could cooperate in a way to leverage their own strength such as Laos trading
electricity to other countries, while Indonesia has hydro potential," she
said.
Asean
has an energy cooperation plan, with its first phase running from 2010-15 in
terms of a regional plan to build trans-Asean pipelines and power grids
connecting countries for the purpose of trade.
Currently,
there are pipelines between Myanmar and Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and
Indonesia and Singapore, but they are not connected regionally to allow
gas-rich countries to export to poorer ones, said Ms Busba.
The
pipeline linking Myanmar and Thailand is still only one-way, but Thailand
should be able to send back some gas if there is an oversupply, she suggested.
To cope
with rising demand, Asean _ which has only about 1% of proven global oil
reserves _ needs to invest US$1.1 trillion to build energy infrastructure by
2030, with more than half spent on the power sector. This would result in the
region's share of global carbon emissions rising to 5% from 3.5%.
By
2020, Southeast Asia will have the world's third-largest population at more
than 650 million, trailing behind China and India.
This
offers a big potential for companies to invest in the region, but Ms Busba said
there is a lack of progress being made for the region to be fully integrated,
and the first phase of the plan will go beyond 2015.
She
said the government needs to come up with a joint investment plan with other
national and foreign oil companies.
"Different
countries have different regulations. How can Asean countries harmonise their
regulations, as it makes private companies reluctant to invest. They are
waiting for a clear policy," she said.
Meanwhile,
Thailand like other countries needs to work on energy efficiency, with plans to
increase the country's energy production from renewable resources by 25% by
2020.
"Energy
efficiency is the most challenging policy because Asean countries still need to
grow economically," said Ms Busba.
Thailand
needs more engineers and needs to decide on a biofuel policy that prevents
competition between sectors.
The
government will also have to come up with incentives for people to use less
energy. In Europe, for instance, those who consume less energy can sell it back
to the government.
Meanwhile
consumers themselves have to be more aware of how much energy they consume per
day, she said.
"The
challenge is how to make sure the public understands the energy challenge they
have to face. In some countries you have a blackout once in a while so you know
the real value of electricity, but in Thailand and many other countries you
don't know the real value," said Ms Busba.
Thailand
has been a net import country with imports worth 800 billion baht per year,
while energy demand is rising by 5% per year.
The
country's import dependence is expected to increase to 80% in 2030, up from the
current 60%. Thailand spent 6.8% of its GDP on oil imports in 2008, which is
expected to increase to 8.5% by 2030.
"In
terms of energy, we need to come up with a policy to allow Thailand to become
the energy leader in the region. With a pipeline constructed, we can export our
products," she said.
Bangkok
Post
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