Asia Gas Hub’s digital gas marketplace to work hand in hand with NETR, position Malaysia as regional gas hub
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Energy market solutions provider Asia Gas Hub’s (AGH) digitised gas trading platform for regional stakeholders, the Malaysia Gas Xchange (MGX), complements the government’s energy transition goals.
The MGX also has the potential to establish Malaysia as the regional gas hub as the country already possesses all the ingredients for it, such as the country’s market having a lot of activity and participants, Malaysia being a major producer and exporter, strategic geographic location, existing infrastructure and supportive government policies, AGH chief executive officer Faris Mustaffa told Malay Mail.
“Before, people always said that gas was just a transition because it is still a hydrocarbon, but in the end, they realised that in order to move towards net zero you must use all of the resources you have, and gas is one of them,” he said.
He explained that gas, as the cleanest burning hydrocarbon, complements the transition towards the increased use of renewable energy as the latter is intermittent.
He provided a simple example: solar energy requires the sun, but the sun is not always out. He added that it was similar with wind turbines that require strong winds or hydroelectricity and rain.
However, gas was not only cleaner than coal, but also is the quickest to power the electrical grid, he said.
Besides that, with Malaysia being the fifth biggest exporter of gas in the world, it had the perfect opportunity to position itself as the gas energy hub of the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
He said that the world’s current two gas hubs were in the United States and the Netherlands, but through the MGX, which is expected to go ‘live’ within the next three to six months, more people will be expected to come here to participate in the Malaysian gas market.
“It will become an impetus for Malaysian economy growth — jobs like gas traders and gas analysts, risk management, all those sort of things will grow,” he said.
This is because the MGX will provide readily available gas at transparent market prices, encouraging foreign businesses to set up in Malaysia instead of elsewhere in the region, he said.
He also expressed his belief that in becoming the regional gas hub, Malaysia would also be better positioned to have energy security.
“Security of supply is the ability to manage a crisis,” he said.
If there were suddenly a lack of supply in gas, one would have to compensate with the skills of adjusting and trading, he added.
Through becoming a regional gas hub, Malaysia would naturally acquire those skills, he said.
“AGH is a first mover in gas/energy marketplace/exchange, making progress, getting interest from both domestic and international players, inviting stakeholders to support and participate in the marketplace to create a vibrant gas market in Malaysia towards becoming the regional gas hub,” he added.
Last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today announced an allocation of RM2 billion for the National Energy Transition Facility at the launch of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).
Besides that, renewable energy supply in Malaysia was at 25 per cent and the country is on track to increase its reliance on renewables to 31 per cent by 2025 and then 40 per cent by 2040, he said, adding that the NETR details how the country will achieve the objectives.
The month before that, national news agency Bernama reported that the government launched phase one of the NETR, which was composed of 10 flagship catalyst projects and initiatives and six key energy transition levers including energy efficiency, renewable energy, hydrogen, bioenergy, green mobility, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage.
