Southeast Asia continues its $160 billion gas buildout - Semafor

Southeast Asian countries are continuing a $160 billion gas buildout, even as the Middle East conflict exposed the import-dependent region’s vulnerability to supply shocks and high prices. Analysis by Global Energy Monitor shows more than 100 gigawatts of gas power and 70 million tonnes per year of LNG import capacity are still being planned across the region. Domestic gas fields could help cushion future shocks, but new supplies take years to develop and won’t remove the region’s growing exposure to LNG imports, the report found.

Developments in Thailand and Vietnam show early signs of a rethink, however. Thailand plans to reduce its reliance on imported LNG in favor of renewable and nuclear power, while in Vietnam, private conglomerate Vingroup proposed replacing a planned 4.8 GW LNG power plant with renewable generation, citing the risk of high LNG prices. At the same, Wood Mackenzie found the boom in data centers is driving structural demand for LNG in the region, which the new import infrastructure could help meet.