New central gas company, Singapore GasCo, launched to ensure steady supply of natural gas
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Singapore GasCo aims to reap economies of scale by aggregating demand from power generation companies.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - A new entity, Singapore GasCo, has been established to centralise the procurement and supply of natural gas for the power sector to ensure a stable and secure supply at competitive prices.
The fully government-owned body aims to reap economies of scale by aggregating demand from power generation companies and negotiating favourable gas contracting terms, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Singapore GasCo said in a joint statement on May 7.
The company will also procure natural gas from diverse sources and enter into longer-term gas contracts to provide more stable supply and prices, the statement added.
Many generation companies had before been reluctant to enter into long-term contracts, due to the fear of being exposed to market volatility and long-term uncertainties.
Today, natural gas accounts for around 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity generation.
The Republic gets its natural gas from two sources – piped natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from various countries.
News of a central gas company to be set up by the EMA was first reported in 2023
Before Singapore GasCo was formed, generation companies individually determined the volume and tenure of gas to obtain – but this meant that there was no guarantee the Republic would have sufficient gas to meet its power needs, an EMA spokesperson said back then.
For example, during the global energy crisis from 2021 to 2022 when gas prices spiked, individual generation companies cut down on their procurement of gas, leading to large swings in wholesale electricity prices.
Being the cleanest form of fossil energy that generates the lowest carbon emissions per unit of electricity, natural gas will “continue to play a crucial role in safeguarding our energy security” as Singapore undergoes energy transition towards net-zero emissions by 2050
Net-zero emissions refer to the country taking out as much planet-warming greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as it releases.
The Republic is expected to rely on natural gas for over half its power generation needs by 2035.
Singapore GasCo will be helmed by Mr Alan Heng, who has been appointed its chief executive officer.
Mr Heng has over 37 years of experience in the energy sector, including in the natural gas sector as group CEO of Pavilion Energy, a role which he held until March 2025.
Prior to this, Mr Heng also spent 23 years at ExxonMobil, where he took on various senior management positions in planning, operations and marketing.
“The establishment of Singapore GasCo is a major milestone in Singapore’s energy transition journey” and the company will play “a key role to support a secure, resilient and cost-competitive power system”, said the joint statement.
