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  Business Times 30 Apr 07
Need for an energy ministry highlighted
 Industry players raise this, other such issues in book
By Ronnie Lim

GIVEN the importance of energy, shouldn't there be an agency specifically tasked to handle energy issues in Singapore? This is one of the many pertinent issues raised in a just-published book - Energy Perspectives on Singapore and The Region - and it is certainly one much debated by industry players here.

Instead of just an overseeing Trade and Industry Ministry, shouldn't there be an energy ministry set up instead, some industry observers ask.

Besides, 'no White Paper on energy issues has ever been issued by the government, except for a report of the Energy System Review Committee' (ESRC) in March 2005 following a major islandwide power blackout in June 2004, the book published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas) says.

This must resonate with at least one industry official who recently told BT that there has been very little heard since of the ESRC, including the outcome of some of its recommendations.

Apart from regulator Energy Market Authority (EMA), the closest thing to a energy ministry right now is the high-level inter-ministry Energy Policy Group (EPG), established last October.

This follows government's realisation that there should be a coordinating body to better tackle complex and multi-faceted issues - from economic competitiveness to security and environment - related to various energy policies.

The EPG - comprising key ministries like Foreign Affairs and Environment and Water Resources, and agencies like the Economic Development Board and the EMA - has since launched two initiatives in energy conservation and alternative energy, which are necessary steps to ensure Singapore's energy security.

The Iseas book - a compilation of talks by industry experts and academia at the Institute's Energy Forum - for instance makes the point that from a strategic oil storage viewpoint, Singapore doesn't really have to be worried.

The continuing build-up of oil terminals on Jurong Island suggests that in a crisis, there is more than enough oil stored here to last the republic a whole year - given Singapore's small domestic consumption of just 70,000 barrels per day.

But Singapore's energy scenario is larger than that, given that it is the world's biggest bunkering port and the third-largest oil-refining and oil-trading hub.

However, with growing competition and the regional build-up in refining capacity and oil trading activity, Singapore has to watch its high costs relative to its neighbours', energy consultant Ong Eng Tong warns.

Agreeing, Esa Ramasamy, a previous Platts director, said that the cost of doing business here is 20-30 per cent higher than anywhere else in Asia, and when it comes to oil storage, Singapore storage costs are 50-60 per cent higher than in southern China, the Philippines and Thailand.

Regarding Singapore's oil trading hub, Mr Ramasamy adds that 'in the near future, there are very few locations in Asia that could rival and develop into a rival trading centre'.

Still, because Singapore's domestic market is small, the trading community could be attracted to other locations with a large domestic market, as the latter helps cushion the impact of a slump in the oil market, he warns.

Among the many others featured are EMA CEO Khoo Chin Hean who discusses the changing energy landscape here; ExxonMobil Asia-Pacific chairman and managing director Kwa Chong Seng on the regional and international outlook for energy, and Keppel Corp senior executive director Choo Chiau Beng on the booming rig market.

The book also covers a range of topics from solar and renewable energy to energy policies in countries like China and Japan.
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