Singapore's state-owned GasCo is set to be "operationally ready" to start procuring LNG by 1 January 2026, its chief executive Alan Heng said at the Asia Gas Markets 2025 Conference on 28 October during the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).
The firm has already begun engaging with potential LNG suppliers for the signing of long-term contracts, Heng said. It is looking to build a diverse portfolio of supply with a mixture of longer-term and shorter-term contracts with different pricing indexations and of different geographical origins, which is essential to ensure energy security and affordability for the country, he added.
In response to a question about Singapore GasCo's perspective on signing long-term contracts given an anticipated supply glut, Heng said that the majority of these additional supplies are US LNG. US producers typically have the flexibility of shutting down their gas plants by paying a small tolling fee and this flexibility should also be considered when looking at overall supply and demand balance, he added.
But the firm will look at overall supply, security and affordability when determining the mix of long-term and short-term contracts in their portfolio, Heng said.
Singapore GasCo would also be ready to respond by 1 January 2026 to step in to procure spot LNG cargoes and have it delivered to local end-users, if the need ever arises, Heng said. Singapore is well-contracted with long-term supply of LNG through 2026, but supply disruptions could happen and the purpose of Singapore GasCo is to mitigate disruptions and ensure stable power supply across the country, Heng added.
The firm is also working closely with Singaporean industry regulator Energy Market Authority (EMA) to build contingency plans in the event of large supply disruptions, he said.
Decarbonisation
The firm's role includes charting a pragmatic pathway towards decarbonisation, Heng said.
Natural gas already makes up 95pc of Singapore's energy mix, he said, adding that the firm must explore technologies to move Singapore towards net-zero emissions given the country's lack of natural resources.
The company has been exploring technologies including the possibility of importing green energy from neighbouring countries, Heng added.
Singapore currently sees solar as the most viable renewable energy option, but is also considering nuclear power and geothermal, Singapore's minister-in-charge of energy Tan See Leng said during Siew on 27 October. Land constraints are likely to limit solar's contribution to meeting Singapore's electricity demand, supplying at most 10pc of the country's total projected electricity demand by 2050, Tan noted.
