Singapore's Indonesia gas pipelines unaffected by quake: Report

Indonesian natural gas supplies accounting for half of the fuel needs of Singapore's power stations have not been disrupted by the massive earthquake and aftershocks that have rocked the region, Singapore's Business Times reported Friday.

Offshore production facilities in South Sumatra and West Natuna - and the submarine pipelines that carry the fuel to Singapore - escaped damage, officials said this week.

'Following the quake we checked immediately with the Indonesian side, who said they were not affected,' said Tan Chin Tung, CEO of Gas Supply Pte Ltd (GSPL) which taps Sumatra's Asamera field.

Tang Kin Fei, president and CEO of SembCorp Utilities, which draws gas from Natuna, said production platforms there - which can withstand tidal waves - were not hit. 'The Natuna fields are in the South China Sea, far away from the impact,' he said.

Temasek-owned GSPL pipes in 350 million standard cubic feet (mscf) of gas daily from Sumatra for PowerSeraya, Senoko Power and CityGas, while SembGas sources another 325 mscf daily from Natuna for Tuas Power and PowerSeraya.

A further 150 mscf of Malaysian natural gas is piped to Senoko Power daily from offshore Trengganu on the eastern side of Peninsular Malaysia - way outside the quake area.

GSPL's Tan said the submarine gas pipelines are buried and encased in concrete, so they are unlikely to be affected by tidal waves. They would only be affected by a direct hit from an earthquake or earth movements.

'South Sumatra, the source of GSPL's gas, is more than 1,000 km from the epicentre of the 9.0 Richter scale earthquake that devastated the western part of Sumatra,' he said.

'Our fields are also on the eastern end. But of course, we can't predict where the aftershocks will occur.'

Still, with piped natural gas from Indonesia and Malaysia accounting for about 60 per cent of Singapore's power generation feedstock, the quake will likely spur plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to diversify the Republic's energy sources. LNG is not tied to pipeline delivery - it can be shipped in from any location worldwide.

A high-power committee of experts is currently looking at how Singapore can strengthen its electricity and gas delivery systems to prevent blackouts like the one last June.(*)