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SINGAPORE – The Republic is buying additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) from other parts of the world as the conflict in the Middle East disrupts shipments of the commodity used to generate electricity in the Republic.
The Energy Market Authority (EMA) said on April 20: “Some LNG shipments from the Middle East have been affected by the ongoing conflict.”
It added that Singapore GasCo, established in 2025 to centralise the procurement and supply of natural gas, is making the purchases “to ensure we have sufficient fuel to meet demand”.
The EMA said in March that Singapore GasCo will step in to fill any gaps if needed.
Around a fifth of global LNG flowed through the Strait of Hormuz before the conflict, but supplies along the critical route have since been disrupted by the war.
Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant – the world’s largest LNG export facility – has also suffered significant damage and operations at the site have been suspended since March.
Gas imports from Qatar made up less than 10 per cent of Singapore’s electricity needs before the conflict, EMA noted.
Singapore currently imports natural gas to meet around 95 per cent of its electricity needs.
In 2025, 40 per cent of the supply came via pipelines from Malaysia and Indonesia. The rest were supplied by sea from markets around the world.
Electricity and gas tariffs have risen in the quarter of April to June on the back of rising fuel prices. The EMA has warned of “further and potentially sharper increases” to these rates later in 2026.
Spot electricity prices have also continued to climb. The Uniform Singapore Energy Price, a measure of wholesale prices, reached its highest level since June 2025 during the week of April 12 to 18, driven primarily by tightened supply.
The EMA said it is taking a diversified approach to transforming Singapore’s energy mix.
Domestic solar energy is expected to meet only up to 10 per cent of energy needs here by 2050 because of space constraints.
EMA said: “We are pursuing renewable electricity imports and studying low-carbon alternatives such as advanced nuclear energy technologies, advanced geothermal energy, hydrogen and ammonia, among other efforts”.
It added that it has awarded conditional approvals and licences to more than 8 gigawatts in proposed electricity import projects, although it recognises that not all projects will eventually be implemented.
“Importers will need to make their own business decisions on whether to proceed with their projects, after more detailed studies are carried out on the technical and commercial viability of the projects,” EMA said.
“As Singapore’s energy demand is expected to continue growing, we continue to be open to studying all import proposals which are credible.”
The Government has said it has yet to tap its energy stockpiles of LNG and diesel despite the Middle East conflict.
Power generation companies here are required to maintain diesel reserves, as part of measures to strengthen energy resilience, and can generate electricity from diesel if necessary.
