Written reply to PQ on Singapore's natural gas supply

Question

Ms Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the proposal by the United States to put the natural gas industry 'on notice' (a) whether this may have an impact on Singapore’s supply of natural gas within the decade; and (b) if so, whether there will be further changes to Singapore’s energy transition plans by 2050.

Written Answer by Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong

1. To recap, the US Climate Envoy, John Kerry commented at a Bloomberg interview on 21 April 2022[1], that the natural gas industry should develop a means to capture greenhouse gas emissions, without which alternative sources of energy must be deployed. He subsequently published a letter to the Wall Street Journal on 25 April 2022[2], stating that “natural gas is central to a smart and achievable policy to cut greenhouse-gas emissions today”, and that innovation in technologies to reduce or capture such emissions in the production and use of natural gas is necessary to support global climate goals. He also highlighted efforts by the industry to produce emission-free electricity with gas, including innovation in technologies like hydrogen which the natural gas sector can lead.

2. Indeed, natural gas will continue to play an important role in the global energy transition. It plays the role of a ‘bridging fuel’ for countries shifting away from more pollutive fossil fuels like coal. There remain challenges in deploying renewable energy in many parts of the world, including intermittency of supply, and difficulties in transporting renewable energy over long distances. Promising new technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), will take time to become cost-viable.

3. Singapore does not have significant renewable energy resources and has to import most of our energy supply for power generation. Currently, around 95% of our electricity is generated using natural gas, imported as Piped Natural Gas (PNG) from Malaysia and Indonesia, and as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from a variety of sources, including Australia, Qatar, and also, to a small extent, the US. Singapore has and will continue to diversify our natural gas import sources, to ensure that we safeguard our energy security and resilience.

4. Besides diversifying our sources of natural gas, we are also transiting to a higher mix of renewable energy, both to decarbonise the power grid and to enhance our energy security. This includes accelerating the deployment of solar power, working with our neighbours to develop a regional energy grid and importing up to around 4 Gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2035. We are also working with our partners and the industry and academia to develop emerging low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen and CCUS, and have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with various countries, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and others, to further our energy cooperation in regional power grid development and low-emission technologies.

5. The transition to a regional grid and low-carbon technologies will need to be paced to avoid incurring excessive costs for consumers. We will monitor the situation and review our energy transition plans periodically to ensure that our transition is well-paced, to achieve decarbonisation while safeguarding our energy security and cost-competitiveness.

[1] “U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry Puts Natural Gas on Notice”, Bloomberg, 21 April 2022.

[2] “John Kerry Responds on the Future of Natural Gas”, Wall Street Journal, 25 April 2022.