Energy Security in Asia: The Case of Natural Gas

Abstract

Natural gas consumption in the future is expected to increase due to its low environmental impact, ease of use and rise in the number of natural gas-fired power plants. This chapter measures natural gas supply security in six Asian economies including Japan, Korea, China, India, Singapore and Thailand from 1996 to 2009. Disruptions to long term security of supply can be caused by inadequate investments in production and transmission infrastructure, lack of supply diversity and import dependency. A composite gas supply security index is derived from four indicators of security of gas supply, with a higher index indicating higher gas supply vulnerability. Results show that China and India are the least vulnerable in terms of natural gas security because of their significant domestic gas production and small share of gas in the energy mix. Thailand is the most vulnerable among the countries studied due to its high reliance on natural gas to power its electricity generation industry as well as its greater exposure to geopolitical risks. With these analyses, governments can target possible sources of supply disruptions and mitigate their effects. Diversification is highly encouraged to spread the risk across different import and energy sources.