Opening Remarks by Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang at the Asian Downstream Summit

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good morning and welcome to Singapore, and welcome once again to the Singapore International Energy wee. I’m pleased to be here today amidst industry leaders from different parts of the world in the energy and chemicals sector.

Building resilience and adaptability upfront

2. This year’s theme, “Shaping a Resilient and Adaptive Downstream Future of Asia”, is timely, as comes as energy security is top of mind for most governments, including Singapore.

3. The Middle East conflict, as we know, has reminded us of why resilience matters. It is not the first time that we have experienced disruptions, but the impact is reminding us that we have to work on energy security. Disruptions to global energy flows have quickly translated into tighter supplies and higher costs for businesses and households, affecting cost of living and cost of business. Brent Crude was around US$70 per barrel in February, but surged to over US$140 per barrel at the height of the crisis in early April. For refiners in this region buying physical crude, the Dubai benchmark spiked even higher, reaching a record US$153 per barrel in mid-March. It has been a rollercoaster.

4. Southeast Asia alone is expected to account for nearly one-fifth of global energy demand growth over the next decade. Energy resilience must therefore remain top-of-mind for many of us here.

5. But resilience alone cannot be bought in a crisis, it must be planned for before the crisis hits. For the downstream sector, that means having options – options in the fuels that we use, options in the technologies that we can deploy, and options in the way we operate our assets – so that we can adapt when circumstances change.

6. Diversifying our energy mix is therefore important not only for decarbonisation; but also for energy security. As import dependence grows across Southeast Asia, a broader range of low-carbon fuels and technologies can strengthen our collective energy resilience while helping us combat climate change.

7. This is particularly relevant to Singapore. As a country that imports almost all our energy, and as a major energy and chemicals hub, building greater optionality goes hand in hand with ensuring that our E&C sector remains positioned for continued success.

Investing in drop-in fuels such as biomethane

8. One way we are doing this is by investing early. Not all low-carbon energy pathways require new infrastructure. “Drop-in” fuels such as biomethane offer the potential to reduce emissions while leveraging existing gas infrastructure. Southeast Asia’s abundant agricultural and organic waste resources offer significant potential for biomethane production, creating opportunities to develop new low-carbon energy supply chains across this region. At SIEW last year, we announced Singapore’s 300 MW Biomethane Sandbox. I am happy to share that we have since made good progress, and we have reached an important milestone with the appointment of Keppel Energy, Sembcorp Utilities and Tuas Power as aggregators to develop biomethane supply chains to Singapore.

9. Beyond developing supply chains, credible certification and accounting frameworks are also important to support biomethane adoption. We are pleased to share that the Singapore LNG terminal has obtained ISCC-EU certification, enabling the sustainability attributes of bio-LNG, or liquefied biomethane, to be tracked and accounted for when commingled with conventional LNG. Earlier this month, Shell delivered Singapore’s first ISCC-EU-certified bio-LNG cargo, demonstrating that liquefied biomethane can be imported through our existing LNG ecosystem.

Opening up new pathways via the DGC

10. At the same time, we do not yet know which alternative fuel or technology will eventually become commercially viable. We can, however, widen our portfolio of possibilities through R&D, demonstration and test-bedding. The Government will help de-risk this path.

11. This is why we have committed $800 million under the Decarbonisation Grand Challenge, or DGC. As part of this Grand Challenge, we will set aside up to $100 million to support companies to take the lead in identifying R&D problem statements related to industry decarbonisation, and co-develop solutions with the local research ecosystem. This new programme, which was announced by DPM Gan last week, will be called Decarbonisation Research for Industry, Ventures, and Enterprise, or DRIVE. We welcome companies to participate actively in DRIVE, and bring us your boldest and most innovative ideas.

12. We are also creating opportunities for promising new technologies to be tested in real-world industrial settings. Last week, the Low Carbon Technology Translational Testbed, or LCT3 for short, broke ground on Jurong Island. Construction is underway, and we have secured LCT³’s first three industry users: IHI Corporation, Amogy and Metha8. Through research collaborations with A*STAR, IHI will work on converting carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel; Amogy on producing hydrogen from ammonia; and Metha8 on an integrated methanol-to-power system. These projects will advance different technology pathways that can create new opportunities for the E&C sector, and broaden our future energy options. And these are relevant not just to Singapore, but to the region and beyond.

13. Government support is only one part of the equation. I’m glad that I’m looking at many industry representatives and leaders here. Because taking these solutions from concept to deployment will require close partnership with you – with the industry. Within the industry, you have the commercial networks, you have the operational expertise and the market acumen to know what works and what does not. We invite companies to work with us – to test and demonstrate your technologies in Singapore, and prepare them for wider deployment.

ADS Awards and Closing

14. Finally, building a more resilient and adaptive downstream sector ultimately depends on the companies and people who put these ideas into reality. This morning's ADS Awards recognise some very good examples. PETRONAS Fertiliser Kedah, our Sustainable Technology of the Year award recipient, reduced gas consumption and emissions from its urea plant flare system by 85%, while maintaining safe and reliable operations. Congratulations. Aster, this year’s recipient of the Innovation in Oil & Gas Digital Technology award, became the first in Asia to deploy a refinery-wide optimisation technology at its Pulau Bukom site. Well done. This has enabled better coordination across its process units, while reducing energy consumption and emissions at the same time. These projects demonstrate that strengthening resilience and advancing sustainability are not just about investing in new infrastructure, but also importantly in asking ourselves what we can do to make better use of existing assets, improving their efficiency and extending their capabilities.

15. The events of the past year have reinforced the importance of building resilience before the next disruption occurs. Our energy future will be shaped by today’s choices. Across Asia, this means investing in drop-in fuels to diversify our energy mix, opening up new pathways through targeted R&D, and most importantly, investing in our people.

16. I hope that SIEW will continue to be the platform for governments and industry to come together from across the region and beyond to forge new partnerships, ideas and co-create energy solutions for the future.

17. I wish you a fruitful and productive summit ahead. Thank you.