Southeast Asia Keeps Building Gas Plants Despite Hormuz LNG Shock

A new analysis from net-zero think tank Global Energy Monitor, cited by Oilprice.com, finds that Southeast Asian governments and developers are continuing to expand natural gas infrastructure even after a Middle East conflict reduced available liquefied natural gas supplies and pushed prices higher. The group reports roughly 100 gigawatts of gas-fired power plants are under construction across the region, alongside about 70 GW of LNG import capacity planned or being built. Global Energy Monitor warned the buildout increases the region’s vulnerability to the same kinds of supply disruptions and price volatility highlighted by the Persian Gulf war. Asian countries are already the world’s largest buyers of LNG and have been expanding related infrastructure for years; the recent drop in available liquefied gas supply and accompanying price spike has tested assumptions behind that expansion. GEM noted that Southeast Asia could lessen reliance on imports by boosting domestic natural gas output, identifying at least 20 fields that together might add around 62 billion cubic metres per year of production capacity by 2035. The think tank cautioned, however, that developing new supply takes years and may not necessarily serve domestic power markets, leaving a near-term gap if imports are constrained. The report framed the region’s planned gas expansion as reliant on three key assumptions: that LNG imports will remain reliably available, that imported gas will stay affordable versus alternatives, and that domestic gas can serve as a fallback when imports falter. With the conflict in the Gulf extending into its seventh month at the time of reporting, GEM said those assumptions face a significant test.