Singapore launches first LNG term supply tender, weighs third import terminal

SINGAPORE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Singaporean state gas buyer GasCo launched its first procurement exercise to secure term supplies of liquefied natural gas, said Gan Siow Huang, the country's minister of state for energy, trade and industry.

The city-state, which relies on natural gas to generate about 95% of its electricity, is also studying the feasibility of a third LNG import terminal on the northeastern island of Pulau Tekong, Gan said at the Asia Gas Markets conference on Tuesday.

The moves come as Singapore prepares to expand its gas-fired power generation capacity. On Monday, the government said it would add five new gas-fired power plants to raise its electricity generation capacity by around 26% early next decade from around 12 gigawatts at present.

Gan did not provide additional details on GasCo's procurement exercise or the size of the potential third import terminal.

GasCo, which was established in 2025 to centralise Singapore's gas procurement and supply, previously said it would seek long-term LNG supplies in the first quarter of this year for delivery from 2028 onward, moving to secure multi-year contracted volumes rather than relying on one-off spot purchases.

The country is expected to face a gas supply gap of about 3 million metric tons in 2028 and 2029, which is expected to widen to around 6 million tons by 2035.

The US-Israeli war on Iran broke out in late February, pushing global gas prices to record highs.

Singapore imports LNG as well as piped gas from neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia. On Saturday, Indonesia's upstream oil and gas regulator said it had cut pipeline gas exports to Singapore by 31 million standard cubic feet per day, to divert supply to its domestic power sector.

Earlier this year, Singapore also started construction of its second LNG import terminal with a regasification capacity of 5 million tons per annum (mtpa). The project, scheduled to begin operations by 2030, will raise Singapore's total regasification capacity to 15 mtpa.

Separately, Singapore appointed Keppel Energy, Sembcorp Utilities and Tuas Power as aggregators to test the commercial viability of importing and using biomethane for power generation and industrial decarbonisation, Gan said.

"This could open up new opportunities for the gas industry to develop regional biomethane supply chains, leverage existing gas infrastructure and trading capabilities," she added.