This week in energy: reflecting on a very busy Gastech and what it means for Asia

Each week, the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA) compiles stories from the energy world that have caught our eye.            

Given the region in which we operate – and our purpose – this collection of content is largely Asia-focussed. But we also look further afield, knowing that developments, trends and technology from around the world also have an impact across our region.            

Here’s what has resonated over the past seven days. 

The gas world gathers in big numbers in Singapore
It’s impossible to start this week’s wrap anywhere else other than Singapore, where Gastech 2023 drew more than 40,000 attendees from around the world to discuss both the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for gas and LNG. 

It was an incredibly busy and rewarding four days. The event took up six halls of the massive Expo site, which gives some sort of indication of the magnitude of Gastech and the organisers at DMG deserve full credit for running such a professional conference. 

ANGEA will have more to say on Gastech in the coming days but it was an excellent forum for us to have both a Board Meeting and a Steering Committee meeting in-person, engage with key personnel from our member companies and also have important conversations with a wide range of global stakeholders. 

Our CEO Paul Everingham enjoyed the opportunity to be part of a panel session talking about the all-important topic of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and was buoyed by discussions of the vital roles natural gas and LNG are playing in the energy transition. 

Venture Global unveils expanded partnership with Baker Hughes
ANGEA member company Venture Global was at the forefront of Gastech news after announcing an expanded partnership with Baker Hughes to deliver additional liquefaction train systems and power island systems for its future LNG export projects in the US. 

Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass project entered operations last year and its Plaquemines facility is expected to produce first gas in 2024 The company has already committed to a second facility at Calcasieu Pass and has ambitions of eventually producing more than 100 million tonnes per annum – an output that would help meet growing energy (and LNG) demand in Asia. 

Read more: https://bit.ly/3sAo6bv 

An out-STAND-ing performance from ANGEA’s members
One of the joys of Gastech was touring throughout the halls and seeing so many people networking and having productive conversations at our member company stands. 

And some of those stands are quite something to behold, with Venture Global and JERA catching the eye with their second-storey meeting rooms. JERA was adjudged Best Stand For Business, while the Woodside Energy team was thrilled to be officially recognised as Overall Best Stand at Gastech. 

Spotlight on the role of gas in Indonesia
One of the key themes to emerge out of Gastech was that natural gas is not just a so-called transition fuel – it’s a source of energy that is going to be central to Asia’s economic fortunes for decades to come. 

ANGEA had the privilege at Gastech of a briefing from Tutuka Ariadji, Director General of the  Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), on Indonesia’s plans for carbon capture and storage (CCS). 

As Pak Ariadji told Reuters at Gastech, CCS is the key to Indonesia being able to underpin its energy transition with the use of natural gas, also meeting the vital objective of the country progressing its economic growth objectives. 

With Indonesia projectd to have the fourth biggest economy in the world by 2050, there’s plenty more of that growth to come. 

Read more: https://bit.ly/481VQyU 

Energy transition can’t be linear or uniform: PM Modi
Gastech offered more key signs that it is now widely understood – by industry and most governments at least – that energy transition across the world won’t be linear and that countries must be allowed to chart pathways that suit their own unique circumstances. 

That point received timely public support this week when Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (the world’s most populous nation), had this to say ahead of G20: 

“Our principle is simple – diversity is our best bet, whether in society or in terms of our energy mix. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions.” 

Read more: https://bit.ly/3P6XI0z 

CCS is a ‘glue’ that will bring a lot of things together
A third really strong message coming out of Gastech was the importance of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a technology that will allow nations to meet both their energy security and energy transition needs over the next few decades. This is particularly the case for emerging economies in Asia. 

The panel session in which ANGEA CEO Paul Everingham participated at Gastech featured a diverse group of speakers but they were in absolute agreement on several things: the potential for abated gas to allow countries to reduce their reliance on coal; the ability of technology to make scaled-up CCS a matter of “when” rather than “if”; and the need for a uniform, cross-border framework across Asia that will allow potential to be turned into reality. 

Read more: https://bit.ly/45LtUxN  

Pleasing support from Australia for Asia’s energy transition
There has been some very positive language coming out of Australia over the past week about its ongoing role as a trusted energy provider to Asia – particularly in relation to the role of gas in energy transition. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida at the G20 Summit and reassured him of Australia’s ongoing commitment to gas production, days after he unveiled a Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 that also acknowledged the vital importance of natural gas to the region’s fast-growing economies. 

Read more: https://bit.ly/460hUYV 

Korean major set for big US CCS project
POSCO International Corp., the general trading and energy exploration unit of South Korea’s steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc., has been selected as the preferred bidder for an extremely significant carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Texas. 

The project – to be located off Corpus Christi – will further expand growing US-Asia links around CCS and is expected to have storage capacity of 600 million metric tons of CO₂, the equivalent of South Korea’s total carbon emissions each year. 

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Es7ndf  

ANGEA is an industry association representing LNG and natural gas producers, energy buyers, suppliers and companies in APAC. Based in Singapore, it works in partnership with governments and societies across the region to deliver reliable and secure energy solutions that achieve national economic, energy security, social and environmental objectives and meet global climate goals.