IEA says Asean must kick gas habit

Southeast Asian nations rely too heavily on natural gas and must diversify their power generation to ensure long-term fuel supply, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.

The IEA, in collaboration with Southeast Asian countries, will hold a workshop on the joint development of fuel diversification in Bangkok next week.

Dr Twarath Sutabutr, director of the Energy Ministry’s policy and strategy co-ordination office, said the agency had been advising policy planners and energy operators in the region that too much dependence on one fuel risks future energy shortages.

“Most fuel reserves here [Southeast Asia] are natural gas, therefore the countries here mostly rely on what they have, but it will run dry very quickly since demand is growing but few new reserves are being discovered,” Dr Twarath reported an IEA representative as saying.

Bangkok Post