Workers’ Party ‘regrets’ Indonesian govt's decision to cut gas exports to S’pore

The Workers’ Party (WP) said it regrets Indonesia’s decision to cut gas exports to Singapore “due to recent unconnected events”.

In a statement posted to Facebook on Oct. 25, the WP referred to comments by Indonesian officials and noted that these comments had been conflated with untrue conspiracy allegations about Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds influencing Indonesia’s standing in financial markets.

The party added that it has tracked the issue of gas supplies to Singapore from Indonesia through its work in parliament, citing questions asked since 2022.

Questions raised in parliament

The WP listed its various attempts to probe for answers regarding Singapore's Piped Natural Gas (PNG) supplies from Indonesia.

In 2022, MP for Aljunied GRC Gerald Giam raised a parliamentary question on "unplanned curtailments and steps taken to improve the reliability of Singapore’s gas supplies from Indonesia".

"The then Minister for Trade and Industry (MTI) confirmed that the contracted volumes for Piped Natural Gas (PNG) are revised annually and because of depleting volumes from source gas fields in Indonesia, the quantum was gradually reducing."

Later in 2022, MP for Sengkang GRC Louis Chua asked about the specifics of the gas supply contracts with Indonesia and their expiry dates.

To which the MTI minister at the time replied that the "information could not be divulged owing to commercial sensitivities".

The then-minister also noted that in order to safeguard Singapore’s energy security, Singapore's supply of natural gas was diversified, "including by supplementing PNG supply with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which allows for the import of gas from other source countries".

"Parliament was specifically informed in 2023 that PNG supplies from Indonesia would decline from 2023, but that this would not affect consumers’ electricity supply in Singapore."

Sanctity of commercial contracts issue of national importance

The WP agreed that “the sanctity of international commercial contracts, particularly those that cover our key utilities, is an issue of national importance”.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had earlier said that the government expects "all parties to honour their commitments" with regard to gas supplies covered by commercial contracts.

"Singapore’s gas importer will take the necessary steps to protect its rights and interests under these contracts," PM Wong said.

Singapore's Energy Market Authority also noted that the cuts represented less than 2 per cent of Singapore's daily demand, and it has sufficient energy supplies.

Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said that in the short term, electricity prices as a result of the cuts will not be affected that much.

While the WP noted that the current reduction “would appear tolerable”, it serves as a reminder of the “importance of diversifying energy supply chains”.

“The WP will continue to speak up in Parliament to strengthen our national energy and economic policies, for the benefit of Singapore and all Singaporeans.”