Kyushu Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it will join a project set up by a Philippine company to supply electricity to the country’s remote islands using microgrids.
Kyushu Electric said it will invest and provide technical assistance to PowerSource Group though the amount of its investment in the Philippine project is not immediately known.
Microgrids are small power grids used to supply electricity to settlements located in mountains and remote islands not connected to larger power grids, commonly using solar power and diesel generators.
Kyushu Electric plans to utilize the technology in the future for mountainous regions in the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan with high transmission costs, as well as areas in Southeast Asia and Africa that have limited access to electricity.
Kyushu Electric “contributes to the supply of environmental-friendly energy and to the expansion of PowerSource’s microgrid business by implementing renewable energy sources and providing technical support such as operation and maintenance improvement of PowerSource’s power plants,” the company said in a press release.
At present, PowerSource provides 100 to 2,100 kilowatts of electricity generated by diesel to six sites on and around Palawan Island and one site near Cebu Island.
The Philippine operator plans to expand supplies to more than 10 other sites.
Kyushu Electric will extend technical support for the introduction of solar power and batteries at the sites.
The utility used microgrids in a demonstration experiment on a remote island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, from 2010 to 2013.
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo will oversee the signing of $18.8 billion worth of energy and trade deals on a visit to Abu Dhabi, including Pertamina’s deal with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co to upgrade a West Java refinery, ministers said on Tuesday.
Some of the deals have been under discussions for some time, while others, such as Pertamina’s purchase of LPG from ADNOC, are new.
Widodo will witness the signings this weekend on his first overseas trip of the year, following an official visit by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to Indonesia in July.
Widodo, whose second term in office began in October, is keen to attract more foreign investors to help create jobs and boost growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Around a dozen agreements will be completed during the Abu Dhabi trip, Luhut Pandjaitan, an Indonesian minister, told reporters, adding the total value was $18.8 billion.
JAKARTA, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has decided to keep coal domestic market obligation at 25% and the price cap at $70 per tonne in 2020, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ministry officials last year said the government was considering lowering the mandatory coal sales to domestic power plant operators to 20% since many miners struggled to fulfill the requirements.
“The government’s commitment to continue with this policy is based on domestic demand consideration and business sustainability,” the statement said. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe Writing by Fransiska Nangoy Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
“Gas is still abundant in Sumatra. Gas supply to Singapore will end in 2023 and will be used for domestic consumption,” said Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister, Arifin Tasrif, in a written statement on 29 November 2019.
According to Mr Tasrif, the current gas supply will be diverted to Duri Dumai pipelines to cater to the domestic consumption primarily on Sumatra Island. Several wells will also supply additional gas to Sumatra Island. The wells and the prices are now under negotiation with the Indonesian government.
A few pipelines connecting Jakarta with Cirebon, Gresik and Semarang will transport gas supply to Java Island. This gas supply will come from Jambi Merang and Blok Saka Kemang.
As for gas supply to Kalimantan, it will be transported by the Trans Kalimantan pipeline. The gas supply will come from Blok East Natuna.
The agreement signed between Singapore and the Indonesian Ministry stipulated that 140 million cubic feet of gas per day was to be supplied to Singapore over a 17-year period. This gas supply was sourced from Gajah Baru Field in West Natuna.
About 80% of Singapore’s power generation comes from natural gas, the cleanest of the fossil fuels. There are four main power plants in Singapore that help to generate sufficient electricity for the country. These power plants are located in Keppel Merlimau Cogen, Senoko, Tuas and Pulau Seraya. Additional capacity is supplied by firms such as Cogens and Sembawang in the petrochemical industries. Firms involved in petrochemical processing need steam as the heat source and the by-product of that can be used for electricity generation. This excess capacity allows the country to be in the carbon negative bracket, which means that it is not a net emitter of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
As of today, Singapore produces more electricity than it actually consumes. The electrical capacity generated by the country was 13,614.4 megawatts (MW) in the first quarter of last year, but peak demand of electricity was merely around 7,000 MW on average. Therefore, the country in fact has 48 per cent of unused capacity as it only utilises 52 per cent of total energy.
According to the Singapore’s Population White Paper in 2013, Singapore’s population is projected to hit 6.9 million people by 2030. Naturally, this rise in energy demand from increased population will become a cause of concern for the government to ensure that energy supply is sufficient for the future.
Thais fear impact of Lao dams but fail to realise they are to meet their power demands, writes Apinya Wipatayotin in Nakhon Phanom
The hydro-electric power plant planned in Luang Prabang will not have any big transboundary impact on Thailand, said the head of Laos’ Department of Energy Policy and Planning, who argued that with Thailand’s support, the project stands to benefit everyone.
Department chief Chansaveng Buongnong said hydro-electric power generation lies at the heart of Laos’ core economic development strategy due to the abundance of natural resources which could support such projects.
“Laos also has significant regional clients, like Thailand, who regularly buy power from Lao plants,” he said.
“Moreover, these projects help lower unemployment rates and bring development to rural areas.”
He also insisted Laos’ hydropower scheme will only have a limited impact on Thailand’s river ecosystem, as specially-constructed “fish passages” will allow fish to continue living and breeding along the dammed stretch of the river.
“Our energy ministers have discussed the project, which boosted our confidence on the project’s future. This will be Laos’ second run-off dam after the Xayaburi dam, which may begin operating some time this year,” he said at the first Procedure for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) meeting for the project in Nakhon Phanom.
The second and third PNPCA meetings will be held in Amnat Charoen and Loei next month.
The process is required under the cooperative agreement on sustainable Mekong development signed by Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand back in 1995.
Any developer planning a project on the main stretch of the Mekong River will have to listen to the other members’ concerns about the project.
That said, the agreement does not empower the other members to oppose the project.
But the People’s Network of Eight Provinces along the Mekong slammed the Luang Prabang dam, saying the PNPCA process has failed to protect and preserve the Mekong River’s resources.
They called on the government to invest in alternative energy sources to reduce power imports from Laos.
It said that higher power consumption in Thailand is the key factor which necessitated the construction of more hydro-electric power plants in Laos.
The project, which is co-owned by the Lao government and a consortium of Thai and Vietnamese companies, will see a run-off hydro-electric power plant with a capacity of about 1,460 megawatt constructed along the Mekong River, between the Pak Beng dam up north and the Xayaburi dam.
Any electricity generated by the dam is intended for export to Thailand and Vietnam.
Construction is expected to wrap up in 2027, and the work will be carried out by CH Karnchang, the company behind the Xayaburi dam.
Mr Chansaveng said that the Luang Prabang dam, like the Xayaburi dam, will be able to withstand heavy floods and earthquakes and improve water management in the area.
Tuangtong Jutagate, of Ubon Ratchathani University’s Faculty of Agriculture, said the challenge now is proving whether these fish passages will actually help the river’s fish population, as some species of fish require depth, instead of unrestricted access, to breed.
“There are at least seven local fish species which may end up disappearing due to the loss of islets along the river which they rely on,” he said.
“There are no measures in place to limit the impact of the dam, and this is certainly a transboundary issue which will have an impact on fish populations along the river.”
Laos is planning to construct a total of five run-off river dams along the Mekong — Xayaburi, Don Sahong, Pak Beng, Pak Klai and Luang Prabang.
Suriya Kotamee, chairman of a local research network focusing on the lower Songkram River, expressed concern the project will put further pressure on the Mekong River and its tributaries, which has already been affected by the construction of the Xayaburi dam.
He added that residents who were affected by the Xayaburi dam have not received any assistance from the government.
“The reduced flow due to the dams will deal a critical blow to the already-declining fish population, as well as communities who depend on the river,” he said.
“A fund should be set up to help those in the lower Mekong basin whose livelihoods were affected by the dams.”
The secretary-general of the Office of National Water Resources, Somkiat Prajamwong, promised to submit all inputs from the meeting to the Thailand’s National Mekong Commission Secretariat and Vientiane.
He also said that while the Luang Prabang dam will have a smaller impact on Thailand than the Xayaburi dam, any work on the project must be managed in such a way to ensure they pose minimal impact on the environment and locals’ needs are taken into account.
“Complaints about the Xayaburi dam should be considered,” he said.
BANGKOK: The government is looking into ways of reducing the impact of the United States-Iran conflict with regard to rising oil prices, said Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong.
According to the Bangkok Post, state agencies were closely monitoring the situation as any escalation would have a direct impact on fuel prices.
“We will update the public on any development,” said Sontirat.
Tensions were expected to rise following the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last Friday.
Soleimani, 62, was killed in a US drone strike on Friday near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, shocking Iran.
The airstrike was ordered by US President Donald Trump, who said the general had been planning an “imminent” attack on US diplomats and the roughly 5,200 American troops stationed in Baghdad.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed “severe revenge” and declared three days of national mourning.
According to reports, Trump said “if the Iranians attacked again, the US will hit them harder than they have ever before”.
Trump said the choice of 52 targets represented the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Teheran for more than a year starting in late 1979.
Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s trade policy and strategy office, said tensions between the US and Iran would cause fluctuations in currency and stock market values, leading to an immediate rise in gold and oil prices.
“The incident will have an impact on Thailand’s macro-economy,” she said, adding that oil prices soared by nearly four per cent last Friday and were likely to rise further unless the situation eased.
“This will prompt investors to hold on to low-risk assets, sending the price of gold into overdrive. It will negatively impact investors’ confidence and affect the global economy,” she added.
If Iran chose to close the Strait of Hormuz as a retaliatory measure, she said, logistics and subsequently oil prices would be severely affected as about 20 per cent of the world’s marine oil shipments passes through the area.
She said the global economy was expected to pick up some pace this year, due to a range of positive factors, which include the progress in China-US trade talks and economic stimulus measures undertaken by many central banks.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University and chairman of the security advisory committee for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, said the US and Iran had been tangled in a conflict for a while, but the assassination of Soleimani had escalated the tensions.
“In the short term, the incident may lead to the two sides launching attacks against each other in the Middle East, or even Europe,” he said.
Electricity supply in Myanmar will increase to 55.72 percent in 2019-2020 fiscal year from 47.25 percent in 2018-2019 FY, according to budget data for 2019-2020 FY.
In nearly three years, over Ks-2,327 billion was invested to generate 900 more megawatts of electricity and plans are underway to generate additional 1,000 megawatts, according to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy.
“As Myanmar’s electricity consumption increases by 15 percent to 19 percent every year, the State is taking measures to meet the domestic need. Since the government took office, electricity has been prioritized in spending the State funds, he said, adding that from April 2016 to December 2019, three hydropower generator stations, six thermal energy generator stations and one solar energy generator station totalling 10 were built in the country to boost electricity generation up to 904 megawatts,” said President Win Myint during a ceremony to achieve 50 percent of national electrification project.
So far, 16,941 villages in 368 towns have had access to electricity.
Power supply is expected to increase to 55 percent in 2021-2022 FY, 75 percent in 2025-2026 FY and 100 percent in 2030.
In the current 2019-2020 FY, eight power plants capable of generating 1,400 megawatts will built by spending over Ks-695 billion.
The Ministry of Energy and Electricity is spending State budgets as well as foreign loans for national electrification project. The loan amount has reached US$621.001 million from World Bank, JICA, ADB, FFW (Germany) and other organizations.
Myanmar’s government is expected to announce major new bidding for natural gas exploration, including 15 offshore and 18 onshore blocks, in a bid to give the sluggish but potentially lucrative industry a much-needed capital infusion.
But while a new exploration agreement signed last month between Myanmar’s MPRL E&P Company, France’s Total and Australia’s Woodside Energy have given the sector a huge boost, investors are still wary about the industry’s policy direction.
Block A6, an Ayeyarwady Region joint venture in which Total holds 40%, Woodside 40% and MPRL E&P Co 20%, will be Myanmar’s first ultra-deepwater natural gas field project. It is also the only new gas development to be started under de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s nearly four-year-old administration.
The field is estimated to contain 2-3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with a projected daily output of 400 million standard cubic feet. That represents more than a fifth of Myanmar’s existing daily output.
Although not expected to come on-stream until 2024 – and some analysts say even that timeline may be optimistic – the project will bolster national energy supplies and provide needed state revenues in a country known for having one of the lowest tax takes worldwide.
“The execution of these agreements, which set a new fiscal framework for Block A6 discovered resources, is a significant milestone in unlocking new gas reserves in an area close to existing gas markets,” said Javier Rielo, Total’s senior vice president for the Asia Pacific.
A Total offshore natural gas platform in Myanmar. Photo: Total Website
The project will “generate a significant long-term revenue stream for the country,” echoed Woodside Executive Vice President Meg O’Neill.
The parties have not yet reached a final investment plan and amount, but Minister for Electricity and Energy Win Khaing said the goal is to start commercial gas distribution from the project by the end of 2023.
How much of the gas will be used for local energy production and how much exported is still apparently under negotiation.
Current and retired officials from the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the de facto industry regulator, told local media outlets that gas produced from the block will be used mainly for gas-fired power plants in Myanmar.
When asked about a supposed 25% allocation of the gas reserved for domestic consumption, as reported by some media outlets, a MPRL source denied any such agreement had been made.
The source, who is not authorized to speak to the media, said that negotiations with potential off-takers of the gas are still ongoing and that there is no domestic market obligation in the production sharing contract (PSC).
Offshore gas sales account for the most important source of government revenues in Myanmar, namely through exports to neighboring China and Thailand. In 2017-18, natural gas shipments accounted for US$3.1 billion, or roughly half of the country’s total export revenues.
Workers weld a pipeline at a construction site of the Myanmar-China natural gas pipeline in Laibin city, south China. Photo: AFP
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Myanmar’s economic growth hit 6.5% in 2018-19, driven largely by strong gas exports as well as garment shipments, despite global economic headwinds.
These revenues, however, came at a price. Extractive industries as well as energy investments in Myanmar are historically intertwined with ethnic conflicts, with minority groups demanding more control over and benefits from natural resources located in their areas.
The Myanmar government does not have a revenue sharing system for oil and gas exploitation or other extracted resources with states and regions, a key stumbling block to reaching a national peace accord.
Meanwhile, an energy shortfall is looming on the horizon. The output of Myanmar’s four existing offshore fields, which account for more than 90% of total gas production, is set to decline.
Gas production from these offshore fields will decrease from about 1.9 billion standard cubic feet per day in 2015 to less than 100 million in 2040, according to a 2018 study by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, a Jakarta-based think tank.
This impending decline has made developing new offshore fields all the more important as domestic gas demand in Myanmar has been rising with growing power needs to fuel the economy.
The government originally planned to hold a new round of international bidding for gas concessions last year. According to industry sources, this was delayed because the ministry wanted to push through first a new Petroleum Law to govern the industry.
The bidding is expected to take place this year with the release of 15 offshore and 18 onshore blocks. It will be the inaugural bidding under Suu Kyi and the first since 2013-14, when then-president Thein Sein spurred a FDI bonanza after awarding 16 onshore and 20 offshore blocks in a 12-month period.
Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi waves to supporters in Naypyidaw on December 14, 2019. Photo: AFP/Thet Aung
Whether Suu Kyi’s bidding is as successful as Thein Sein’s, however, will likely depend on her government’s willingness to reform its current tax-heavy and opaque production sharing contract (PSC) model.
Analysts in Yangon suggest that Myanmar is unlikely to attract many foreign bidders unless the commercial terms outlined in existing PSCs are substantially adjusted.
The new bidding round should rely on a revised model contract to help maximize revenues and ensure transparency, the IMF has said.
Last month’s Total-Woodside-MPRL P&E deal sent a positive signal to potential bidders, not least because of lingering concerns about possible reputation risks in Myanmar’s extractive industries.
But unresolved issues over the draft petroleum law, including over PSC terms, could still hold back foreign investor interest.
The Myanmar Petroleum Operators Club, a group comprised of existing operators and producers, expressed concern about the revised bill, warning in a letter to parliament that “a final law could result in a long period of uncertainty” that “delays” billions of dollars worth of potential investments.
Key issues raised in the letter, which was not made public, concern possible changes to existing PSCs, lack of clarity on overlapping regulatory authorities and the risk for companies of losing title to resources between exploration and actual production.
Natural gas canisters on the streets of Yangon. Photo: Twitter
Sources told Asia Times that the government is currently consulting with the industry on the draft law, though its unclear if it will address all the concerns raised.
Moreover, the draft legislation does not separate the dual roles of MOGE as a regulator, which is authorized by the new law to “issue any necessary orders and directives”, and as a commercial player.
This, critics say, contradicts the Suu Kyi administration’s national policy – the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan – which requires state-run economic enterprises to “operate on commercial principles, with independence, transparency and accountability.”
When in the political opposition, Suu Kyi criticized the MOGE for lacking “both transparency and accountability” and urged foreign governments to bar their companies from forming joint ventures until the state firm improved its practices and contract disclosure.
But reforms since she took power in March 2016 have been limited. In a letter to parliament, the independent Myanmar Center for Responsible Business also argues that the legislation needs to be revised to include reform of the MOGE, among other policies.
The Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative, of which Myanmar is a member, requires compulsory contract disclosure from 2021 and hence the law should be amended to align with this international obligation, according to extracts of the letter reviewed by Asia Times.
“It is essential that a clear and effective Petroleum Law is adopted, since this will underpin sustainable investment in a sector that generates 50% of Myanmar’s export revenue,” it concluded.
