Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry Dr Tan See Leng and Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi have signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) at the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) on Oct 26.
The MOC reaffirms both Singapore and Japan’s shared commitment to support and facilitate the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain for energy security.
It will build on the existing MOC on Low Emissions Solutions signed by Singapore and Japan in February. It will also expand the areas of cooperation to include the promotion of investments across the LNG value chain. Other areas of cooperation under the current MOC include discussions on the use of LNG as a transition fuel, knowledge sharing on the measurement as well as reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions in the LNG supply chain.
In its statement, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) stressed that Singapore is “committed” to transitioning its energy sector. This will be done through decarbonising and diversifying the country’s energy supply through natural gas, solar, regional power grids and low-carbon alternatives.
According to the MTI, natural gas is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel and will continue to be an important transition fuel for many countries, before low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen become feasible for large-scale deployment.
It adds that given the continued role of natural gas in the global energy transition, governments and businesses should work together to ensure continued and sufficient investments in natural gas supply chains, exchange information on market conditions and any outlook to support investments into natural gas, as well as reduce emissions from the natural gas supply chain.
