Opening Remarks by MOS Gan Siow Huang at the Asia Gas Markets Conference 2025 Singapore International Energy Week 2025

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction: Gas as a Fuel to Navigate the Energy Trilemma

1.    Good morning, everyone. It is nice to see so many of you interested and passionate about the Asia gas markets, and coming so early in the morning. I am delighted to attend my first-ever Asia Gas Markets Conference and to speak on the theme of 'Driving Trade Amid Transition'.  

2.    Natural gas can play a critical role in helping countries navigate the energy trilemma. We hear that all the time. Now despite uncertain market conditions, it remains a key fuel which can support all of us in our decarbonisation journeys. First, natural gas is one of the cleanest fossil fuels, with half the emissions of coal. Second, natural gas-fired power plants provide baseload power needed to stabilise the grid, to complement intermittent renewable energy sources. Third, gas power generation infrastructure can be co-fired with fuels with lower emissions, such as biomethane and hydrogen. This allows our power infrastructure to pivot to low-carbon fuels in the future.

3.    As such, gas is not just an important fuel for today. It is also a bridging fuel for tomorrow’s energy systems. In Singapore, we are working with our partners in the gas industry to advance our gas transition through the “triple S” for Gas.
“Triple S” – what is it?

Security: Enhancing Gas Supply Resilience

4.    The first S is security.  Natural gas will remain Singapore’s primary energy source for the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is essential to enhance our gas supply resilience, which will underpin Singapore’s energy security.

5.    This year, we established Singapore GasCo as the central procurer of natural gas for the power sector in Singapore. GasCo will aggregate demand and procure gas from diverse sources, thereby ensuring stable and competitive gas prices. GasCo’s CEO, Mr Alan Heng, has a big job ahead of him and he will be sharing more on Singapore’s gas procurement outlook. 

6.    In addition, SLNG is developing Singapore’s second LNG terminal, or 2T for short. 2T will increase our LNG throughput capacity by about 50%, and that will bring this up to 15 million tonnes per annum. It will also host Singapore’s first floating storage regasification unit, which held its steel-cutting ceremony just last Friday in Busan, Korea. 2T is expected to commence operations by 2030.

7.    Together, GasCo and 2T will play a critical role in strengthening the security of gas supplies for Singapore.

Support: Early Adopters of advanced CCGTs

8.    The second S is support. While Singapore has a generally liberalised gas and energy market, we are prepared to provide targeted support where needed.

9.    For example, deploying a new generation of advanced CCGTs will improve generation efficiency and lower our carbon footprint, and that is good. However, because these new CCGTs are 1.5 times larger in capacity compared to current CCGTs, operators will face higher reserve costs. How does it work? This is because we procure our reserve generation capacity based on the largest output from a single CCGT, which will be set by one of these new units. And these larger units will also bear a greater share of the system’s reserve costs. This cost disadvantage is temporary, as the reserve costs for each operator will come down when more advanced CCGTs enter the market.

10. To support the adoption of advanced CCGTs, EMA introduced a S$44 million incentive scheme last year to mitigate early mover disadvantage due to these higher reserve costs.  Minister Tan See Leng announced yesterday that the incentive scheme will be awarded to Keppel and Sembcorp for deploying Singapore’s first two advanced CCGTs. These units are expected to be operational next year and will deliver 400,000 tonnes of carbon abatement per annum.

Supplement: Biomethane as a Promising Low-Carbon Drop-in Fuel

11. The third S is supplement. We are partnering the industry to catalyse the development of biomethane supply chains, which can be a promising low-carbon supplement to our natural gas supplies.

12. Why is biomethane attractive? First, there is significant potential in the region and beyond to produce biomethane from crop residue and animal waste. Second, biomethane is compatible with existing power generation and gas transmission infrastructure, making it a “drop-in” fuel with no additional CAPEX needed. Third, biomethane has multiple uses, and could reduce emissions across the power, industrial and maritime sectors.  

13. We are therefore establishing a regulatory sandbox for the supply aggregation and sale of up to 18 TBtu of biomethane per year, sufficient to continuously generate up to 300 MW of electricity. The aggregators will be selected early next year.

Closing

14. I will say that our partnership with the industry on the triple S for gas – security, support and supplement – will unlock new opportunities as Singapore forges ahead towards a sustainable and resilient energy future.

15. Natural gas is a bridge between our present energy needs and a sustainable future for Singapore and our region. With a strong network of over 50 LNG traders based here – many of whom are here with us today –  I am confident that Singapore will continue to play a role in the resilience and growth of the global LNG market. I wish you a fruitful day ahead.