Southeast Asia To Become Net Gas Importer

摘要

Southeast Asia is traditionally thought of as an LNG exporter, thanks to legacy producers Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. That looks set to change dramatically over the next two decades. Lack of upstream gas investment and continued growth in demand could turn the 10-nation region into a net gas importer by the mid-2020s, according to the main New Policies scenario in the International Energy Agency's (IEA) latest energy outlook, which forecasts that Southeast Asia's economy will triple in size by 2040 — comparable to China's today — as the population jumps 20% to over 760 million. The need for affordable electricity will spur demand for gas, coal and renewables, with coal set to grab the biggest share by 2040, as governments walk an energy tightrope, balancing the desire to grow their economies against cuts in emissions.