Gas market reforms are critical to Malaysia’s long-term energy and economic security needs. 

The President of Malaysian Gas Association, Hazli Sham Kassim, said natural gas has always played a fundamental role in supporting Malaysia’s economic development.  

“As a matter of fact, in the last 30 years, energy consumption has increased by six-folds, with half of that demand being powered by natural gas,” he added, while speaking at the IGU Diplomatic Gas Forum yesterday.

The forum hosted by MGA, as a charter member of International Gas Union (IGU), was the first IGU Diplomatic Gas Forum to be held in South East Asia. The Diplomatic Gas Forum is a series of forums organised by IGU in several major cities in the world, including Washington, Stockholm and Madrid and is designed to create awareness on the gas market and benefits of natural gas amongst the diplomatic corps and international communities in the respective countries.

According to Hazli, the credentials of natural gas as a cleaner, efficient and cost-effective fuel are indisputable. Abundant supply, competitively priced and being the cleanest fossil fuel make natural gas as best option to fuel the economy, whilst at the same time enabling countries to meet their carbon emission commitments. 

This is consistent with the theme of this year’s World Gas Conference (WGC2018) in Washington DC, USA. WGC2018, organized by IGU in June 2018, is the world’s largest gas conference and will showcase the vital role of natural gas in “Fueling the Future”.

“At MGA, we see natural gas as playing a major role in ensuring a sustainable future for Malaysia. There are still plenty of growth for greater utilisation of natural gas. Efficient use of energy can be enhanced using natural gas as fuel,” Hazli added.

As the lead advocate of natural gas in Malaysia, MGA is committed to facilitate growth of Malaysia’s natural gas sector by driving demand for natural gas and increasing industry participation. MGA is constantly engaging key stakeholders, such as policy makers and industry players, to promote greater utilisation of natural gas in the power generation, manufacturing industries and transportation sector.

In his keynote address, the Vice President of International Gas Union (IGU), Dr. Joo-Myung Kang, said “The energy transformation is already underway with natural gas complementing renewables. In next coming years, climate change and poor air quality are not the problem of the next generation. This is now, present, and imminent dilemma we have to tackle. It is time for law makers, policy makers, central and provincial governments to provide better direction, enact enlightened policies and lead markets to respond for a sustainable future powered by gas.”

The IGU Diplomatic Gas in Kuala Lumpur focused on the latest developments of the gas market in Malaysia, namely the market and regulatory reforms that were implemented when the Gas Supply (Amendment) Act 2016 took effect early last year. 

The Act enhances competition in the gas market by enabling the participation of third parties in the gas supply industry via the Third Party Access (TPA) system. Under the TPA, new gas suppliers can bring natural gas in liquefied form (LNG) into the country via any of the two Regasification Terminals (RGT) and deliver their gas to their buyers using the existing transmission and distribution pipelines. 

The TPA would also allow large gas users to purchase their own supply of natural gas in LNG form from any source and utilise the regasification terminals and pipeline facilities to bring the fuel their premises. In that manner, market liberalisation will promote competition, efficiency and supply security, as well as ensure the long-term security of gas supply to the country.  

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