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Energy Cooperation ,
Renewables

EU urges PH to tap available funding for innovative energy projects

1 November 2018

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Philippines

MANILA — The European Union’s (EU) delegation to the Philippines urged local stakeholders to tap its available funding for sustainable and reliable energy projects.

EU Project Manager for Cooperation Section Willy Hick said Thursday during the Energy Smart 2018 of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines that EU’s Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (ASEP) provides investment support for innovative energy solutions.

One of the three components of ASEP is providing a 21-million-euro investment support package for pro-poor and climate resilient innovative business solutions in the power sector.

Hick said the EU urged stakeholders such as electric cooperatives, communities, and entrepreneurs, among others to submit their proposals for projects intended to help provide electricity to rural communities, particularly in Mindanao.

He added that under the program, the Delegation targets to sign deals before Dec.18.

Under the ASEP, the EU grants a 7-million-euro technical assistance and capacity building for reform as well as another 29-million-euro investment support through World Bank to provide 40,000 solar home system in Mindanao.

In total, EU’s ASEP here provides 57 million euros to help the Philippines promote sustainable and reliable energy.

“We wish to extend the ASEP program,” said Hick, noting that ASEP runs from 2016 to 2019.

For future interventions, Hick said the EU aims to promote “blending instrument”, which is a combination of loans and grants as investment support for viable businesses and projects that will generate new connections and additional power capacity.

He added that the EU will still be assessing the feasibility of “blending operations” and opportunities in the renewables sector in the country.

This will be under the Electrification Financing Initiative or the ElectriFi program of the EU, which is being rolled out in countries in Africa. (PNA)

Oil & Gas

Indonesia’s Pertamina Looks To Buy Crude, Gasoline In Rupiah

1 November 2018

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Indonesia

Higher oil prices, sliding local currency, and deteriorating government finances have led to Indonesia’s state oil firm Pertamina seeking to reduce expenses in U.S. dollars, and the company has issued tenders to buy spot crude oil, gasoline, and gasoil in its domestic currency the rupiah, or currencies other than the U.S. dollar, S&P Global Platts reported on Friday, citing tender documents it has seen.

Indonesia—the biggest gasoline importer in southeast Asia—typically imports between 7 million and 9 million barrels of gasoline per month.

Indonesia is cutting expenses on crude oil and fuel imports amid rising international oil prices, trying to reduce a swelling account deficit. The local currency, on the other hand, touched earlier this month its weakest level against the U.S. dollar in more than 20 years.

Earlier this week, Basuki Trikora Putra, Pertamina’s director of corporate marketing, told Reuters that the oil company was looking to cut its spending of U.S. dollars and that the Integrated Supply Chain unit, as issuer of tenders, “has requested to use other currencies apart from U.S. dollars, including rupiah.”

A few days before that Pertamina issued a tender to buy crude oil for delivery in Q1 2019, according to a tender document seen by Reuters. The state oil firm wants to purchase up to 5.7 million barrels of low-sulfur crude oil from West Africa, Malaysia, Vietnam, or Brunei, in currencies such as the euro, rupiah, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, or Saudi Arabia’s riyal.

In a bid to cut its current account deficit, currently at 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Indonesia introduced last month new legislation to prioritize local crude oil production over imported crude oil. The new regulation stipulates that oil and gas operators in Indonesia must first sell their production to Pertamina in Indonesia before considering exports of crude oil.

Energy Cooperation ,
Energy Economy

Policies will continue to be adjusted to support the energy sector: Chan Chun Sing

25 October 2018

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Singapore

SINGAPORE: The Government will not shy away from making tweaks and adjustments to policies if needed to support Singapore’s energy sector, given the changes in the global energy landscape, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.

“We will continually tweak our policies to encourage more innovation, to encourage more competition so we can have more affordable and more varied options for our consumers,” he said.

“Because we are prepared to test out new rules and regulations to enable innovation to take place, our rules and regulations are not just regressive or defensive in trying to prevent bad things from happening,” he added.

This way, Singapore will be able to present itself as an attractive platform for energy professionals and leading energy firms worldwide to test bed their ideas, which will in turn generate opportunities for Singapore companies and workers too.

“We will attract many more researchers to come to Singapore, to work with Singaporeans to develop new ideas, not just for ourselves but also so that we are able to provide services to the rest of the world. Singapore companies will be able to have greater collaboration with overseas partners to test out and develop their ideas for greater range of products and services for Singapore and beyond.”

Mr Chan went on to say that another advantage that Singapore has is its size, being “neither too big nor too small”. He said that if Singapore is too small, developers cannot be sure enough if their ideas have the ability to scale; if the country is too big, it makes it hard for developers to test their ideas on a huge market and get a quick result.

Apart from the willingness of authorities to exercise flexibility in regulating the industry to help it develop, Mr Chan said Singapore needs to watch key changes in the global energy landscape carefully and assess how they affect a small country like Singapore.

USE OF DATA IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

One area he pointed to was the use of data to better manage the country’s energy consumption and electricity grid – which he said is an area Singapore and other ASEAN countries can work on as well.

“There’s always a potential for them to link up their grids to provide some degree of redundancy to help one another in times of need so that’s one area of work but more interestingly, is how to use data to better enable different cities to optimise their demand and supply patterns.

“That is an area where Singapore can help to share some of our ideas with other emerging cities in the world, not just in ASEAN. Because we are a microcosm of the kind of challenges that many other people face in their own respective cities so that is something that is interesting and can be shared,” he said.

SINGAPORE MONITORING ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS CLOSELY

Another area was the use of Energy Storage Systems to enhance the overall stability and resilience of Singapore’s power system.

“Energy storage systems can also sometimes provide a complementary source of power especially during high peak demand. For example, some countries, when the electricity is cheap and when the demand is low, they pump the water from the reservoir from a level to a higher level and they store it in the form of gravity. During the peak demand, they discharge the water back and then they run the turbines and then it creates energy,” said Mr Chan.

He added that there are many other ideas pertaining to such systems in the market and that Singapore is monitoring them closely to see how they can be adopted to improve the country’s power system.

All in, Mr Chan said Singapore’s key priorities in energy strategy and policy initiatives still lie in ensuring that the country’s systems are reliable, and that there is sufficient redundancy at the national level and even more redundancy for the nation’s critical installations.

Redundancy, in engineering terms, refers to the duplication of critical components or functions of a system to improve reliability. This is often through the use of a backup or failsafe.

To achieve this, Mr Chan said Singapore needs to continue to invest ahead of time to build up energy and generation capacity.

He added that Singapore is in a “good position” at this point in time because its forefathers have invested in the generation capacity and transmission grid ahead of time.

“So going forward we are looking at a framework to see how we can attract more competitive producers ahead of time to build that capacity and how we can make sure that we continue to maintain our network at a very high quality standard at affordable prices,” he said.

“We are in the process of renewing our entire island electricity backbone networks by having a deep tunnel to make sure that we build for the next 100 years. A power grid that will allow our economy to continue to grow and continue to sustain the needs of our population,” he added.

OPEN ELECTRICITY MARKET TAKE UP RATE TO “GRADUALLY PICK UP”

And part of the effort to develop Singapore’s energy sector is the liberalisation of the electricity market, which will spur competitive pricing and innovation, said Mr Chan.

From November, electricity consumers in Singapore will start to have the option of choosing their preferred electricity price plans from as many as 12 providers.

With the nationwide roll-out of the Open Electricity Market (OEM), consumers will no longer have to buy electricity from SP Group at a regulated tariff that is reviewed quarterly.

Mr Chan said: “A very common question that people ask is: Why is it that in SP we find a general price that’s of this level? And the answer is simply because SP has to cater to the entire market and they can’t do all this little small packaging, whereas now retailers are able to do the packaging and be more customised.”

Mr Chan said he is confident that the take-up rate for the Open Electricity Market market will gradually pick up as more people are aware of the choices they can have, citing the success of the pilot scheme in Jurong in April which gave authorities the confidence to extend the market liberalisation islandwide.

“The take-up rate in Jurong has crossed 30 per cent and not many other places have reached this in six months or even in a few years,” he said.

He said the Jurong pilot scheme also gave rise to concerns that prompted the authorities to address and rectify.

“Actually, we had many more price plans than what we eventually offered. And that was one of the first lessons learned from the Jurong trial. The lesson is that most Singaporeans would prefer maybe two to three options rather than too many, because if it’s too many then it will confuse them,” he explained.

When asked if there are too many retailers and whether a consolidation in the market could be on the cards, Mr Chan said it would be “too premature to jump to a conclusion” at this point

Oil & Gas

Singapore’s Pavilion Energy signs long-term LNG charter deal with BW

25 October 2018

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Singapore

SINGAPORE, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Singapore’s Pavilion Energy has signed an agreement with commodities shipper BW Group for the long-term charter of two newly built liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, the company said on Monday.

The 173,400 cubic metre vessels, expected to be delivered between 2019 and 2020, will add to Pavilion’s global portfolio and boost its LNG trading expansion, the company said.

The M-type, electronically controlled, gas injection (MEGI) vessels offer environmental benefits through greater efficiency and lower carbon emissions, it added.

“The long-term charters of these MEGI newbuilds … will strengthen Pavilion Energy’s global LNG trading activities, especially on long-haul voyages from Atlantic liquefaction plants to Singapore and Asian markets,” said Frederic Barnaud, group chief executive of Pavilion Energy.

Pavilion Energy was set up in April 2013 by Temasek Holdings , Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and is focused on LNG investment.

It formed a joint venture with BW in 2014 called BW Pavilion LNG to acquire, manage and charter maritime LNG assets, including LNG carriers.

Energy Efficiency

New service to help companies cut carbon emissions, generate savings

25 October 2018

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Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore companies can now subscribe to a service that will help them cut energy usage and carbon emissions by about 10 per cent, and in turn, generate savings.

The service – called the Co-Pilot Hub – was launched on Monday (Oct 22) and is offered by software and services provider KBC.

The hub is co-funded by Japanese electrical engineering and software firm Yokogawa Electric Corporation and through a grant from the Economic Development Board under the Research Incentive Scheme for Companies (RISC).

Companies can sign up and pay a subscription fee and pay the solutions provider, KBC, a portion of the energy savings that are achieved. KBC declined to disclose how much the subscription fee is.

KBC projects that a refinery, for example, will be able to save up to S$30 million a year through the service.

In essence, the co-pilot programme provides a second pair of expert eyes on the firm’s plant, to provide expertise and assistance through a shared digital twin – or digital copy – of the firm’s complete facility that is uploaded onto a secured cloud platform.

This way, the service provider will be able to monitor the plant and thereafter, analyse plant performance, discover improvement opportunities and formulate a plan that will optimize energy efficiency and in turn, reduce carbon emissions.

KBC’s Asia Energy Lead Andrew Morrison said the service will help energy and chemical companies in Singapore to comply with legislative requirements.

“Over the next three years, we anticipate total benefits for Singapore industries in the range of S$200 million to S$300 million.” he said.

This comes on the back of the Energy Conservation Act which was enhanced in March 2017 to make it mandatory for large industrial emitters to report greenhouse gas emissions from 2021.

The measures will help Singapore achieve its pledge under the Paris Agreement on climate change to reduce emissions intensity by 36 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Currently, the industrial sector accounts for about 60 per cent of Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the National Environmental Agency.

Electricity/Power Grid

Air taxis will be tested in Singapore skies next year – here are 5 things to know about the Volocopter

25 October 2018

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Singapore

A man who can fly, a robotic supermarket, and now, flying taxis? We are living in the future.

Volocopter, a German aviation start-up, will be putting its air taxis to test in Singapore in the second half of 2019.

In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 18), Volocopter said that the air taxi trials in Singapore are supported by the Ministry of Transport, Economic Development Board and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

CAAS will collaborate with the firm to establish the scope of the test flights and ensure that they meet the necessary requirements.

CAAS director of aviation industry Ho Yuen Sang said that there is potential for air taxis to transform mobility and logistics in urban cities. He added that Volocopter is at the forefront of such new and innovative technology in the aviation industry.

Although these air taxis resemble helicopters, the Volocopter is actually based on drone technology and powered by electricity.

Before it hits the skies next year, here are 5 things we know about the Volocopter air taxi.

1. Distance and weight

Volocopter’s air taxi can fly two people for distances up to 30km.

Apart from ferrying passengers, air taxis are designed for inner city missions and can carry 160kg.

2. No pilot

The Volocopter 2X is operated by a single joystick which controls altitude, balance and landing, according to its website.

Volocopters can be flown fully autonomous with a pilot on a joystick, or remote-controlled from the ground.

Even when the pilot lets go of the joystick, the multicopter will retain its prevailing position.

The machine can even fly completely on its own “in areas which autonomous operations are possible”, the company said.

3. Quiet

The Volocopter 2X has 18 rotors that operate within a narrow frequency band. This means that the rotors sound only twice as loud as one single rotor.

The Volocopter 2X has a total of 18 rotors.

Volocopter

In comparison, a helicopter has main and tail rotors and a turbine, which makes it many times louder than an air taxi.

Volocopter’s website states that the Volocopter 2X, within 75m, sounds equally as loud as the smallest helicopter within seven times the distance.

4. Emergency and safety

There is an emergency parachute on board and numerous support systems for flight control and stabilisation.

Critical components such as propellers, electric motors and battery packs are designed to assure “the highest degree of reliability”, the company said.

It also promised that communication networks are connected via the latest optical fibres.

In Sept 2017, Volocopter performed a public unmanned test flight in Dubai in September 2017. It said that it has been granted a certificate for manned flights since 2016 in Germany.

5. Expansion to Singapore

The company said that to support its expansion plans, it will be setting up a product design and engineering team in Singapore.

It will also partner real estate developers and mobility providers in Singapore to establish infrastructure that can support flight testing.

Electricity/Power Grid

Govt readies additional supply of electricity to meet demand

25 October 2018

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Myanmar

Arrangements have been made to prepare sufficient electricity to meet rising demand next year, according to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE).

The rate of increase in electricity consumption typically rises by 15 percent per year on average. This fiscal year though, demand is expected to increase by 19pc. As such, the MOEE is aiming to raise supply to 3700 megawatts during the period, from 3400MW this year.

U Soe Myint, deputy permanent secretary of electricity at the MOEE, warned though, that some projects may still be delayed, depending on the availability of funds. The ministry is expected to spend K578 billion in next year, which includes international aid.

Myanmar generates most of its energy through gas and hydropower plants. As construction of several hydropower projects is still ongoing, additional energy requirements for the fiscal year will be supplied by three gas-fired power plants, said U Khin Maung Win, managing director of the Electric Power Generation Enterprise (EPGE).

These include the 225MW combined-cycle Sembcorp Myingyan gas plant, which commenced operations this month, a second gas plant producing 90MW of energy in Myingyan as well as a 145MW plant in Belin, Kyaukse.

“We have also stored water and repaired gas towers for running existing power plantsto supply electricity for the coming summer,” said U Khin Maung Win.

Meanwhile, construction of transmission lines, substations and distribution lines to transmit the energy generated to the national grid will need to be accelerated.

However, U Khin Maung Win said more delays can be expected at this stage. “If there are financial difficulties or objections from the community in the process of constructing the supporting infrastructure such as power stations, substations and distribution lines, it will lead to delays,” he said.

Whatever the case, state funds have already been allocated for the generation of additional power. “The government wants to complete many hydropower projects and build all the power stations and lines necessary to meet electricity demand. As the MOEE enjoys the second highest priority on the budget, we will be able to expand our power generation capacity,” U Soe Myint said.

States and regions

With help from the state and World Bank, arrangements are being made to supply electricity at various townships and villages in proportionate amounts by utilising state and regional budgets, the MOEE said.

Currently, funds are being allocated towards expanding the national grid to Rakhine, Shan, Sagaing, Magwe and Mandalay. Sub-power stations will also be built across ten major cities, including Pathein,Dawei, Mawlamyine, Taunggyi and Loikaw, which, in turn, will channel electricity to more than 400 villages, in line with the National Electrification Project.

The national grid expansion project will include development of infrastructure in Thilawa as well as the 117-mile 500KV Taungoo-Kamanat transmission line project and 230KV Mawlamyine-Ye-Dawei line.

Meanwhile, upgrades are being carried out at the 118MW Thaton power station and other power stations in Hlawga, Alone, Ywama and Thaketa. The MOEE will also be building of 66KV, 33KV, 11KV, 400 KV lines and sub-stations with the aim of alleviating poverty in poorer states and regions.

Hydro power

Over the longer term, several hydropower projects are expected to come onstream. State funds will be deployed into developing only the smaller hydro power projects, while larger projects will be implemented with international help.

Currently, the Upper Yal Ywar Project, Upper Kyine Taung Project and Thahtay Hydro Project are still under construction and are expected to come onstream within the next 4-5 years, depending on the availability and frequency of funds, said U Khin Maung Win.

He added that the budget for electricity and energy is also under constant pressure as large sums are utilised to subsidise electricity for the country. This fiscal year, the government is expected to incur losses of up to K600 billion to subsidise electricity tariffs, which is up from K480 billion in 2017-18.

“We need to increase electricity prices even as we raise supply to meet demand. We are now awaiting orders from senior officials to do so,” U Khin Maung Win said.

Currently, residential prices in Myanmar are K35 per kilowatt-hour for the first 100 units, K40/kWh for the next 100 units, and K50/kWh for all units after that. With an average tariff of roughly US$0.03/kWh, these are the lowest residential prices in ASEAN, and among the lowest in the world.

Oil & Gas

Philippines Scrambles to Find Undersea Energy as Import Prices Hit Consumers

25 October 2018

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Philippines

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, left, walks along his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte as they meet in Jerusalem, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018.

TAIPEI — The resource-rich Philippines is doubling up development of its own fuel sources as world oil price hikes hit the largely impoverished population.On October 17, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed a service contract with the Israeli energy exploration firm Ratio Petroleum to scout for fuel under the South China Sea, the Department of Energy in Manila said. It is the first Philippine-foreign energy contract signed since 2013.

The Philippines is talking separately with China, despite a maritime sovereignty dispute, about another joint exploration deal.

Pursuit of joint exploration with foreign countries reflects not only a lack of technological expertise in the Philippines to exploit its own undersea fuel reserves, but also an urgency to find that fuel, experts believe.

“It’s ideal to probably have a good source of oil,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist with Banco de Oro UniBank in Metro Manila. “It would be ideal if we can be self-sufficient. It would save money given the rising oil price.”

Price-sensitive consumers

Oil price hikes have rippled around the world this year but hit the Philippines especially hard because food staples such as rice have suddenly started costing more at the same time. Inflation was 6.4 percent August, the highest in Southeast Asia, and 6.7 percent in September.

About one-fifth of the 100 million-plus Philippine population lives in poverty, meaning some feel a pinch when they get gasoline for their motorcycles or buy tickets for public transport.

Duterte, an otherwise popular president, saw his net trust rating fall from 75 to 57 points from December through June in part because of inflation, analysts believe.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his State of the Nation address at the House of Representatives in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines July 23, 2018.

Prices for Brent crude oil hit $78.90 per barrel on the world market in September, up from $72.50 a month earlier, for a 40 percent increase over the previous year. Sino-U.S. trade disputes and a cut in oil export loading by Iran have driven the increases.

“The President has been very clear – our country needs to attain energy security and sustainability at the soonest possible time,” energy department Secretary Alfonso Cusi said via his department’s website last week.

“We are currently experiencing how our dependence on importation has left us at the mercy of price movements in the global oil markets,” he said. “We need to boost the exploration and development of our own energy resources and the awarding of the petroleum service contract to Ratio Petroleum is a step in the right direction.”

Oil and gas exist; expertise lags

The Philippines controls untapped fuel deposits estimated at $26.3 trillion, the state-run Philippine News Agency said in February, calling that amount “more than enough to free the country from the shackles of poverty.”

But its contractors lack the exploitation expertise available in Western countries, analysts believe. In Asia, Vietnam and Myanmar also rely on foreign partners to tap fuel under the sea.

“Often these frontier economies don’t have good capabilities in that area,” said Rajiv Biswas, executive director and Asia-Pacific chief economist with the research firm IHS Markit.

“Definitely oil and gas technology is a key area where developing countries, especially countries like the Philippines, need the help of big global players who have advanced technology in oil and gas,” Biswas said. Developing countries may also need the foreign contractor’s investment, he added.

Manila is no stranger to foreign oil exploration deals, but deals can be elusive because estimated reserves are not on the scale of places such as the Middle East, while parts of the South China Sea west of the Philippine archipelago are contested. Five other governments claim all or part of the same waters.

Philippine officials brought on Shell Philippines Exploration, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, in 2002 to help explore a major undersea tract called the Malampaya gas field. Gas from that field accounts for 20 percent of domestic electricity requirements but Philippine media say reserves are forecast to start declining by 2022.

China and the Philippines have talked about joint oil exploration since 2017, with China saying it would be willing to accept just a 40 percent share of any discoveries. The two sides still dispute sovereignty in parts of the South China Sea, but since 2016 officials from both have set the dispute aside to work together economically.

The Israeli firm is untested so far, analyst say, but it should pay attention to potential competition. The 7-year contract calls for tapping 416,000 hectares in an undisputed zone for potential oil and gas.

“If they want to get more oil exploration projects in the Philippines, they better measure up, because China is coming in,” said Eduardo Araral, Philippine and South China Sea-specialized associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s public policy school.

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