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Indonesia announced plans to cut natural gas supplies to Singapore due to rising domestic gas demand; At the same time, haze caused by forest fires continues to increase, increasing diplomatic tensions between Indonesia and its neighboring countries.
Indonesia Officials said that they will reduce the quantity of imports from today to give priority to domestic needs.Singapore Ofnatural gas exit. The two countries are at loggerheads over regional air pollution caused by wildfires emanating from the vast archipelago.
Indonesia will cut natural gas supplies to Singapore by 31 million standard cubic feet per day, Joko Siswanto, chairman of Indonesia’s energy regulator’s special task force for upstream oil and gas (SKK Migas), told AFP.
He explained that the move was “to maintain a stable supply of natural gas to domestic power plants” and added “We will continue to monitor subsequent developments every day.”
Currently only Singapore is affected.
Indonesia is one of Singapore’s main sources of natural gas, supplying 145.3 billion cubic feet in 2024, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
This reduction is approximately 8% of the total. The Singapore government has not yet commented.
Wildfires in Borneo and Sumatra have blanketed cities in neighboring countries with smog, causing a diplomatic spat between Indonesia and regional countries.
Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahdalia warned on the 22nd that Jakarta would take action against countries that “disrespect Indonesia” and said it was considering cutting natural gas exports to prioritize domestic demand.
President Prabowo Subianto on the 21st rebuked some countries that “like to insult” Indonesia, but did not name any specific countries.
The Southeast Asian giant has been trying to control wildfires for months. More than 1.9 million hectares of land burned in the first nine months of this year, according to Nusantara Atlas, a deforestation monitoring group.
Not only Indonesia, but Malaysia, Singapore and Timor-Leste have also seen their air pollution indexes rise to dangerous levels, prompting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to hold a crisis meeting.
Singapore has pledged to take legal action against companies responsible for the wildfires.
Summary FAQ
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Indonesian officials said the adjustment of exports is to give priority to maintaining a stable supply of natural gas to domestic power plants, so gas supplies to Singapore will be reduced first and the situation will be monitored in the follow-up.
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Indonesia’s natural gas supply to Singapore will be reduced by 31 million standard cubic feet per day, accounting for about 8% of Singapore’s total imports from Indonesia. Only Singapore is known to be affected.
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Wildfires in Borneo and Sumatra have caused severe haze that has affected Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor and other places, increasing air pollution and triggering diplomatic disputes. ASEAN also called a crisis meeting.
