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11th Oil Market and Natural Gas Forum and Business Dialogue

01 July 2022

Online, 14 June 2022 — Member states of ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, Korea) convened a virtual meeting for the 11th Oil Market and Natural Gas Forum and Business Dialogue, hosted by the Philippines. Also in attendance were representatives from the Institute of Energy Economics (IEEJ), ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE), and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).

Opening remarks were given by Mr. Felix William B. Fuentebella as Senior Undersecretary of the Philippines’ Department of Energy. In his remarks, he expressed that, “Our committed involvement in the oil market and natural gas forum under the umbrella of ASEAN+3 energy cooperation for the past 10 fora manifests our desire for a future towards a secured, resilient, and sustainable region.” The forum was chaired by Mr. Rino E. Abad (Director, Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB), Department of Energy (DOE), Philippines), with ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) as the elected rapporteur.

The meeting was focused on oil and gas market development, the future of oil and gas business, potential partnerships, and oil and gas directions in ASEAN Member States (AMS). After being impacted by COVID-19, recovery is starting to happen in the oil and gas industry. AMS presented situation updates from each country and discussed ways forward in navigating the recovery.

In their presentation, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) highlighted that LNG and natural gas will support renewable energy and economic growth in Asia, and that increased imports in this sector is necessary due to the current global energy crisis. In the process of achieving net-zero, it is also essential for each Asian country to declare targets in achieving carbon neutrality and draw its own roadmap, with which Japan offers its support in collaboration with Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

 

During the discussion on the future of oil and gas business in ASEAN, AMS’ national oil companies presented updates, challenges, and their future plans in the industry. They also presented their activities in energy transition and energy resiliency. Malaysia, for instance, is committed to be net-zero by 2050. Its national oil company PETRONAS has established pathways to net- zero through its Four Sustainability Lenses. In line with its commitment to sustainability programs, Indonesia’s Pertamina allocates 14% of its CAPEX to clean and renewable energy.

JOGMEC has once again expressed its support towards decarbonisation efforts in ASEAN. Current initiatives include studies using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and an energy transition training course. For future collaborations, JOGMEC could help ASEAN countries accelerate decarbonisation by providing more tools and strengthening the entire H2/NH3 supply chain development, along with CCS development.

In the roundtable session, AMS discussed the global oil and gas security situation, reduction of methane emissions, and oil and gas price stability. To ensure energy security, AMS have made efforts to increase energy efficiency. Myanmar and Philippines are deploying and promoting the use of electric vehicles to reduce energy consumption. Thailand is diversifying its energy sources with solar fuel. Regarding methane emissions reduction, Indonesia is drafting regulations on Carbon Capture and Storage/Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCS/CCUS).

“We reaffirm our commitment to the wide extent of initiatives under the umbrella of the ASEAN+3 energy cooperation,” stated Mr. Rino E. Abad as Chair in his closing remarks. “Through the Oil Market and Natural Gas Forum and Business Dialogue, we are confident that we will make significant progress in obtaining secure, resilient, and sustainable energy.”

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