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M’sia moves closer to opening up natural gas market, says Petronas
Malaysia is moving closer towards opening up its natural gas market to spur competition and demand.
Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) executive vice-president and CEO for gas and new energy Adif Zulkifli said Malaysia was just one price review away from achieving market-based gas pricing this year.
“If this happens, it would truly be a game-changer as our gas reforms move towards market liberalisation,” he said during his speech at the Malaysian Gas Symposium (MyGas) 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, organised by the Malaysian Gas Association (MGA).
In the past few years, Malaysia’s gas market has been undergoing reforms, including a gradual subsidy elimination strategy by the government of 1.50 ringgit ($0.36) per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for every six months.
The next tariff revision is next month, of which, according to MGA, the local natural gas price is expected to match the global market price.
“The ongoing liberalisation of the natural gas market would ultimately result in a stronger and more sustainable oil and gas [O&G] industry, where prices would be determined on a willing buyer-willing seller basis.
“Moreover, with the ongoing implementation of the third party access (TPA) system, it would also encourage new parties to enter Malaysia’s gas market, thereby driving competition for the benefit of Malaysian gas users,” MGA said.
Adif pointed out that the market liberalisation would promote healthier competition in the gas supply industry and eliminate inefficiency.
Adif said Malaysia was targeting to increase its gas production by an additional one billion standard cubic metres per day or 12.5 per cent by 2025 from the current eight billion per day.
“This is depending on the domestic gas market demand growth when we reach market parity. Gas contributes about 40 per cent of the country’s primary energy supply mix,” he said.
According to MGA, Malaysia’s O&G industry is the second highest export earner, contributing 46.8 billion ringgit between January and April this year.
Of this, liquefied natural gas (LNG) made up 4.9 per cent of the country’s total exports, amounting to 15.8 billion ringgit. Malaysia is ranked as the world’s fourth largest exporter of LNG. THE STAR (MALAYSIA)
Source: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/m%E2%80%99sia-moves-closer-opening-natural-gas-market-says-petronas