In the October 2025 instalment of this quarterly series, Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association CEO Paul Everingham reflects on Gastech in Milan, the appointment of Ryosuke Tsugaru as ANGEA Chair, gas industry developments in Australia, a visit to the Moomba CCS project and the outlook for the rest of the year.
Last month was one of the global gas industry’s biggest events in Gastech. What are your reflections on that?
Gastech 2025 was quite a buoyant event – the mood in the gas industry at the moment is generally very optimistic. A lot of that is being driven by the US, where projects are developing at pace following the removal of the “pause” on LNG export approvals and the introduction of the Energy Dominance Council. US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and other Council members attended Gastech and that really added to the momentum around LNG. There were several instances I observed of sellers and buyers working on the terms of LNG deals, which I hadn’t noticed as much at previous editions of Gastech.
ANGEA has a new Chair since your previous Quarterly Q&A. Please tell us about the appointment of Ryosuke Tsugaru and his first board meeting in the role?
Firstly, I’d like to extend our gratitude to former Chair Bill Bullock. Bill was very generous with his time and energy over his two years as Chair, and he has been pivotal to ANGEA growing and maturing as an organisation.
It’s extremely exciting to have Ryosuke Tsugaru as ANGEA’s new Chair. He brings a wealth of experience in the global energy industry, along with perspectives from one of the world’s biggest LNG importers and users in JERA. The Japanese viewpoint will be very important to ANGEA’s policy work going forward. Japan is not only a major destination for LNG but a regional leader in the energy transition, which is supporting Southeast Asia’s decarbonisation plans and driving low-emission technological solutions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and ammonia.
Our September board meeting was very positive. Because of geography and scheduling, it’s rare that most of our board members can be in the same place at the same time and it was great to take the opportunity to meet in person and undertake some planning for 2026.
You joined Tsugaru-san on a panel in Perth at a sideline event to the Australian Japan Business Cooperation Committee Conference – how was that experience?
It was an excellent panel with a strong ANGEA flavour – the third member was Rachael Risucci from bp. It was quite a wide-ranging discussion but almost every question led back to one thing: the pivotal role that Australia must play in Asia’s transition to lower carbon energy systems. A big part of that will come from Australia continuing to be the reliable supplier of LNG that Asia has depended on for decades. Development of cross-border CCS projects will also be critical. It was very pleasing to see West Australian Premier Roger Cook and Minister for Mines and Petroleum David Michael in the audience. Both have been strong supporters of the WA LNG industry, and their ongoing leadership can help ensure Asia’s energy transition needs are met.
There’s been quite a bit of positive recent commentary about gas from Australian politicians – particularly at a state government level. How do you view the Australian landscape?
It’s very encouraging to have Australian State Premiers talking so enthusiastically about gas. In the past two months, Chris Minns from New South Wales, Peter Malinauskus from South Australia and Roger Cook have all publicly highlighted how vital gas is. The energy roadmap that was just released in Queensland stresses the importance of gas, and the Northern Territory Government is actively supporting production from the Beetaloo Basin. WA, Queensland and the NT are all significant LNG exporters and decisions makers in these jurisdictions recognise how vital this is for Asia.
It’s also been pleasing to hear Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King seeking to provide assurance to LNG buyers around future supply and promoting the benefits of carbon capture and storage. The key at a federal level will be to ensure the policy and regulatory environment supports the development of both gas and CCS projects. Australia’s Future Gas Strategy, for example, references the value of gas production to both Australia and Asia and the potential of CCS. But concrete action needs to be taken to ensure the Strategy isn’t just a statement of intent. ANGEA reinforced this in our recent submissions to the Australian Government’s east coast gas review.
How does the S&P Global Commodity Insights study released mid-year intersect with the Australian situation?
I would encourage anyone in Australia with an interest in energy to read the study materials: from decision makers through to people who are just curious about the impact of Australian LNG once it is delivered to trade partners. The study shows that LNG is a much cleaner alternative for Asia to coal in power generation, which provides reliable power generation that also supports greater penetration of renewables.
For every tonne of CO2 emitted in producing LNG and shipping it to Asia, more than three tonnes of lifecycle emissions are avoided when it displaces coal in electricity production. That’s an extremely powerful equation and makes it clear that LNG exports to Asia are a net positive for climate targets. This data is applicable for the 10-year timeframe outlined by the study and the longer-term and is also relevant beyond the study focus countries of Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Last time we caught up, you were just about to travel to the Moomba CCS project in the Australian outback – please tell us a little about that experience?
Visiting Moomba was amazing. It’s always eye-opening to see gas industry projects up close, and it was a real treat to tour a carbon capture and storage facility that has already stored more than 1.3 million tonnes of CO2.
Similar to the S&P Global study, I’d encourage anyone with doubts about the technical feasibility of CCS to read the story we have produced from our Moomba visit. CCS isn’t just some theoretical decarbonisation technology – it is already producing real emissions reduction results every day. The contribution of CCS will grow significantly in the years ahead with the establishment of cross-border value chains across Asia Pacific.
What’s on the agenda for ANGEA for the final two months of 2025?
We’re looking forward to laying out in more detail our work schedule for 2026. This will be informed by September’s board discussions and a strategy day we recently held in Perth with the ANGEA Steering Committee.
We’ll be keeping a close watch on outcomes from COP30 in Brazil, which represents another opportunity to acknowledge the contributions that natural gas and CCS can make to emissions reduction efforts over coming decades. Late October brought some welcome recognition of the importance of gas from both the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Canada and the APEC Leaders Summit in Gyeongju.
Closer to home, I’m excited to be speaking about the enduring importance of natural gas to Singapore’s energy security and transition at an Energy Studies Institute workshop at the National University of Singapore in early December.
Paul Everingham was CEO of the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA) from September 2022 to June 2026. ANGEA works with governments, industries and communities in Asia, providing affordable solutions that promote energy security, economic growth and decarbonisation.
