An announcement celebrating the completion of a gas pipeline spanning more than 3,600km through six ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, was made at the 38th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) in Hanoi on Thusday.

Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An presided over the virtual meeting.

In their remarks at the event, the ministers highlighted the outstanding results of their cooperation in the development and exploitation of the energy resource potential in the region.

Accordingly, ASEAN regional energy intensity, a measure of the energy inefficiency of an economy, decreased 21.4 percent compared to 2005, exceeding the original target of a 20 percent reduction by 2020.

Construction of the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline (TAGP), spanning 3,631km, through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam, as well as the formation of nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) centers with a cumulative capacity of 38.75 million metric tons a year have played a part in achieving this goal.

ASEAN Power Grid Projects also helped increase the power exchange capacity to 10,800 MW by 2020 and more than 16,000 MW during the year.

One of those power grid projects was the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP), the first phase of which was successfully carried out, with the connection and implementation of electricity purchase and sales transactions between Laos and Malaysia via Thailand’s power grid from January 2018.

At the event, the ministers also witnessed the signing of an MoU on the implementation of the second phase of the LTMS-PIP, with the exchange capacity committed between the parties rising to 300 MW from 2022.

Moreover, the proportion of renewable energy in the energy structure of the ASEAN region has significantly ascended, targeting a 23-percent growth rate in renewable energy use by 2025.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade An emphasized the need to propose policy initiatives to enhance the integration of renewable energy into the ASEAN grid to create stable future energy sources for the region.

In the framework of AMEM 38, the ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF) was held online on the same day, during which senior ASEAN policymakers and representatives from global organizations and businesses discussed issues relating to public-private partnership (PPP) and solutions for energy security.

As part of the forum’s activities, the ASEAN Energy Awards 2020 was also held on Thursday evening, honoring outstanding businesses, organizations, and individuals making significant contributions to the development of ASEAN’s energy industry during in 2019-20.

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