Singapore clarifies: Indonesian piped gas is for domestic use only, a separate matter from the LNG resale claim

Singapore's Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (METI) clarified on October 30 that piped natural gas imported from Indonesia is for domestic use, and not for export. The clarification followed remarks a day earlier by Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, who told reporters in Jakarta on October 29 that of 148 LNG cargoes shipped to Singapore, not all were used for Singapore's own needs, with some traded onward and exported to other countries.

Piped gas and seaborne LNG are two different channels

Singapore stressed the two must not be conflated. 'Piped natural gas imported from Indonesia is for domestic use, and not for export,' a METI spokesperson said. As for seaborne LNG, cargoes usually move directly from the source country to the destination country and do not physically pass through Singapore; Singapore-based traders make the commercial decisions, and any re-export is subject to the relevant supply agreements.

Background: piped supply cut since October 24

The other thread in the dispute is Indonesia's cut to piped gas supply to Singapore, in place since October 24. Indonesia's upstream regulator SKK Migas said it cut 31 million standard cubic feet per day — 15 million from Natuna and 16 million from Sumatra — diverting the gas to power needs in Batam, Bintan and Sumatra. Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA) put the reduction at 17 billion British thermal units per day over 18 days, less than 2% of Singapore's daily gas demand for power generation. Singapore generates about 95% of its electricity from natural gas, with pipelines accounting for about 43% of imports and LNG about 57%.

An exchange already several rounds old

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on October 25 that Singapore expects parties to commercial contracts to honour their commitments; Bahlil responded on October 26 that deliveries remained above contract minimums and there was no breach. The October 30 clarification is Singapore's first explicit separation of piped gas from LNG cargoes in answering the resale claim. When the two countries' foreign ministers met in Jakarta on October 27, they agreed on a task force on transboundary haze but did not publicly address the gas cut.