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'Singapore is in a great position to focus on frontier technologies to leapfrog in this industry,' he said. Singapore is already a major oil trading, refining and exporting hub but aims to further build the sector - which is located mainly on Jurong Island. Mr Rusli said the Republic has the 'human resources infrastructure' to attract global talent for research and development (R&D). It can also take the lead in energy diversification such as in alternative fuels like biofuels and hydrogen. 'Singapore's greatest challenge is supply security, and this is also true for countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, which were historically self-sufficient exporters but which are becoming growing importers,' he said. In general, one top priority for South-east Asian governments is to protect domestic reserves, while simultaneously exploring for offshore reserves and improving technologies to counter declining output by the region's major oil producers - Indonesia and Malaysia. He said countries such as resource-poor Singapore can build sophisticated, large-scale petrochemical refineries to achieve an advantage and bargaining power when securing energy contracts. Asia as a whole is now dependent on crude oil imports from the Middle East, as well as Russia, noted Mr Rusli, who was speaking at an Institute of South-east Asian Studies seminar on energy issues. He noted, however, that Indonesia and Malaysia have the potential to expand their liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, which are critical to South-east Asia's energy security issues. According to BP's annual world energy review, Indonesia and Malaysia produced 134 billion cu m of natural gas in 2006, which made up 4.7 per cent of global output. Last September, Singapore announced that it will build its first LNG terminal on Jurong Island at a cost of $1 billion - which will be a major source of fuel for electricity generation plants when it is operational in 2012. This will also help to cut Singapore's reliance on piped natural gas for energy generation. LNG is natural gas cooled to liquid form and delivered by tankers from source countries, including Australia and Qatar. Mr Rusli said energy policy road maps in this region will focus on three increasingly interdependent objectives: competitiveness, security and the environment. Keeping fuel prices competitive and energy sources diversified must be balanced with sustainable operations to 'avoid social unrest'. Governments should also seek to find a 'competitive cost of environmental protection', he said. Some other considerations for all countries include reducing per capita energy consumption, improving energy efficiency and driving R&D, especially in renewable energy sources. Mr Rusli also suggested that governments in this region minimise any remaining fuel subsidies so as to alleviate its financial burden. China and Indonesia, he added, still have large coal reserves that can be tapped. But the controversial nature of the fuel, due to its high carbon emissions, is something that only technological advances, such as clean coal technology, can address. 'In many cases, formulating energy policies is easier than the implementation. These changes will take some time.'
S'pore's edge
GO HIGH TECH 'Singapore is in a great position to focus on frontier technologies to leapfrog in this industry.' MR RUSLI, on the energy sector
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