SINGAPORE, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Singapore aims to increase liquefied natural gas imports as part of the expansion of its LNG terminal, said a government official.
British-based BG Group currently has the contract for supplying the initial 3 million tons of LNG at Singapore's first LNG terminal, a $1.7 billion facility on Jurong Island, which started commercial operations in May.
Speaking Wednesday at the Gas Asia Summit in Singapore, S Iswaran, Second Minister for Trade and Industry, said Singapore's energy regulator, the Energy Market Authority, plans to lift an existing moratorium on piped gas imports by 2018, or when BG Group reaches its contracted 3 million tons.
Iswaran noted that the aim of the moratorium was to ensure the LNG market "is able to develop and have a certain base-load position in Singapore."
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"As we go forward ... we should really be able to open up the market to different sources of gas in order to ensure the most competitive sources are able to supply to Singapore, hence the desire to lift the moratorium."
A third tank at the terminal is slated for completion by the end of this year, increasing the terminal's capacity to 6 million tons a year. The government also plans for a fourth tank and associated regasification facilities by 2016, which will raise capacity to 9 million tons a year, Iswaran said.
Experts are expecting a good response from potential LNG players.
Stephanie Wilson, managing editor of Asia LNG at Platts news service said Singapore is a good market for suppliers, with demand that "is pretty constant" and likely to increase, Channel News Asia reports. "There's not much risk as far as I can see," Wilson said.
More than 90 percent of Singapore's electricity is generated using natural gas.
The city state aims to become Asia's liquefied natural gas trading hub. Asia is now the fastest-growing gas market worldwide and is expected to become the second largest by 2015, says the International Energy Agency.
In his opening speech Monday at Singapore International Energy Week, Iswaran cited the IEA's estimate that renewable energy is currently the fastest growing sector of the global energy mix, accounting for around a fifth of all electricity produced worldwide. Consequently, governments and policymakers "must consider how these global developments can be harnessed to secure the energy future of their countries," he said.
"We have some of the best strategies and initiatives in order to diversify Singapore's energy mix, foster competition in our energy markets, and help consumers make more informed choices about their energy use and one key strategy is to diversify our energy sources," Iswaran said.
