Need for a well-integrated network-
Several gas transmission pipeline projects are being planned in Southeast Asia to connect gas production centres with areas of high demand. The gas transmission sectors of most countries in the region are dominated by state-owned gas companies.
Malaysia has one of the most extensive inland natural gas pipeline networks in Southeast Asia. The country aspires to be a regional gas trading hub, owing to its strategic location in the centre of the Asia-Pacific region.
For Indonesia, its size and island geography have been natural barriers to developing pipeline-based transmission and transportation infrastructure. Lack of infrastructure has hampered gas distribution and transmission within the country, pushing producers to export gas. To overcome the problem, the Indonesian government has formed a master plan for gas transmission and distribution for 2010–25.
In Thailand, too, there is need to expand the gas pipeline network. Thailand also needs to liberalise its onshore distribution to enable third-party access to onshore pipelines and to the Map Ta Phut liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to boost production and increase efficiency in the sector.
Indonesia
Over the years, significant progress has been made in the expansion of Indonesia’s gas distribution and transportation networks, which now cover almost all of western and eastern Java and Sumatra. The country’s distribution utility giant, PGN plans to soon extend its pipeline networks throughout the country.
Existing pipeline network: PGN currently operates more than 5,860 km of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines. This includes 2,160 km of high pressure transmission pipelines (which includes the 536 km long pipeline to Singapore), with the rest forming gas distribution networks. To distribute gas, the company manages a network of pipelines that extends from the drilling areas (oil and gas fields) to commercial zones, or to collection stations for loading gas on to transport vessels.
Indonesia exports gas to Singapore and Malaysia. Inside Indonesia, its gas distribution network, stretching more than 3,750 km, supplies natural gas to power plants, industry, commercial businesses, and households. PGN’s distribution networks are spread across all the major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi, Banten, Karawang, Cirebon, Surabaya, Medan, Pekanbaru, Batam, and Palembang, with a total distribution volume of 807 million cubic feet (mcf) per day.
Malaysia: Unusually for Asia, natural gas consumption in Malaysia is less than domestic production. Hence, the country has enjoyed the status of being not only a self-sufficient gas producer but also a prominent gas exporter for a long time now.
The country’s gas pipeline network, which is handled by Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB), grew by almost 50 per cent from 2005 to 2013. An important element in this growth is the completion of the Peninsular Gas Utilisation (PGU) project in 1988, which now functions as a catalyst for the development of Malaysian natural gas fields, which are all located offshore, and for the use of natural gas in general. The Petronas-operated PGU network, which has expanded the natural gas transmission infrastructure in peninsular Malaysia, spans more than 2,550 km and has an annual capacity to transport 57 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas.
The entire PGU system has three main networks – PGU I, II, and III – in peninsular Malaysia. In Sarawak, the gas network comprises a 50 km pipeline from Sarawak’s offshore gas fields to the Bintulu liquefaction facility.
The country also has a cross-border pipeline network, which it uses to import gas from the Malaysia–Thailand Joint Development Area (JDA) and from Indonesia, and to export to Singapore. The country also imports from B Block in West Natuna in Indonesia via a 100 km pipeline. Malaysia also exports gas to Singapore through a 70 km long pipeline, which was commissioned in 1991.
Thailand: The country’s existing gas transmission pipeline network comprises 1,437 km of onshore pipelines and 2,198 km of subsea pipelines, which include the Thai segments of the pipelines that bring gas from Myanmar. The offshore transmission system links fields in the Gulf of Thailand to the country’s six gas separation plants supplying gas by-products to petrochemical facilities and to other markets. The onshore portion consists of both eastern and western sections linking the gas separation plants and gas pipelines from Myanmar to power facilities.
Cross-border pipelines: The cross-border pipeline network between Myanmar and Thailand includes the Yadana– Ratchaburi pipeline (completed in 1998) and the Yetagun–Ratchaburi pipeline (completed in 2000).
Myanmar: Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) is the sole operator of Myanmar’s domestic gas transmission network. Myanmar exports a significant amount of gas to Thailand via pipeline and has recently completed a gas pipeline with China. The country has an approximately 3,360 km network of transmission and distribution gas pipelines, with diameters ranging from 6 inches to 20 inches, spanning the country.
The transmission grid is estimated to be 1,900 km long (barring the length of the dedicated export pipelines to Thailand).
Cross-border pipelines: The country exports gas to Thailand via two subsea pipelines. One links the Yadana gas field and the other the Yetagun field to Thailand’s gas grid.
Upcoming projects
A major project expected to strengthen connectivity in the entire region is the proposed Trans-ASEAN gas pipeline (TAGP) system. This will be the first natural gas pipeline connecting the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and possibly China. It is to link Mersing in Malaysia’s southern Johor state to an offshore utility platform in the Northern Natuna Islands, Indonesia. The pipeline will be extended to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and eventually to Hong Kong and Guangzhou in China. The project is expected to be over 7,000 km long. As of October 2013, 11 cross-border pipelines under this project, with an approximate length of 3,020 km, were in operation.
Outlook: Need for well-integrated pipeline network
The limited intra-ASEAN pipeline infrastructure has increased the region’s reliance on LNG, leading to increasing development of LNG regasification terminals in the region.
The region needs a well-integrated pipeline network. While some Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, hold significant gas reserves, cross-country trade through pipelines is difficult because of both geographic and geopolitical factors. The TAGP, aiming to establish broader gas interconnections throughout the region, has made slow progress because of a shortage of gas sources and the required investment. Speedy implementation of this pipeline will not only enhance energy security in Southeast Asia, but also lead to more efficient utilisation of the region’s resources.
