The Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at accelerating the energy transition and bolstering power supply security across Southeast Asia. This agreement focuses on several key areas, including the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG), managing methane emissions, advancing the power market, and promoting carbon capture utilization and storage (CCU/S) initiatives to enhance the region’s energy security.

The MOU follows a white paper titled "ASEAN Interconnector Study: Taking a Regional Approach to Decarbonization" by DNV, which highlighted that ASEAN member states could reduce their decarbonization costs by $800 billion through regional collaboration on power interconnectors, hydrogen networks, and energy storage infrastructure. The MOU is designed to support the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC), which outlines various strategies to accelerate energy transition while strengthening energy resilience. These strategies are expected to be implemented by ASEAN countries’ sectoral energy bodies with support from ACE and assistance from international organizations and dialogue partners.

Paul Everingham, CEO of ANGEA, emphasized the commitment of both organizations to helping countries balance economic growth with climate goals. He noted that access to affordable and reliable LNG would be central to achieving this balance in Southeast Asia, and developing the region’s import capabilities would be a core focus of the MOU. Everingham also highlighted the significance of the signing ceremony coinciding with an event focused on carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology crucial for Southeast Asia’s energy transition. He pointed out the strong programs of work that ANGEA and ACE are undertaking to accelerate CCS development.

The collaboration between ANGEA and ACE could extend to capacity building, knowledge sharing, and developing various studies on the natural gas market, policy and infrastructure, methane management, power market modeling, and CCU/S projects, particularly those related to carbon accreditation frameworks. Beni Suryadi, ACE’s Deputy Executive Director, underscored the growing importance of LNG as a bridge fuel for the energy transition, the role of regional power trading in integrating clean and renewable energy, the potential of CCU/S to strengthen regional energy security while pursuing cleaner energy sources, and the urgency of mitigating methane emissions to address climate change more swiftly.

Suryadi also highlighted the significant growth in natural gas demand projected in the ASEAN Energy Outlook, with consumption expected to reach 32.91 Mtoe in 2025 and 71.42 Mtoe by 2050. He expressed hope that the cooperation between ACE and ANGEA would continue to expand, leading to fruitful initiatives that advance ASEAN’s energy transition and reinforce energy security toward a sustainable low-carbon economy.

The MOU underscores both organizations’ commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions that align with the economic and environmental goals of ASEAN member states. ANGEA and ACE expect this partnership to make significant progress in ensuring energy security and accelerating the region’s transition to a low-carbon future. This agreement follows another MOU signed less than a week ago between ANGEA and the Korean Private LNG Industry Association to collaborate on natural gas development in Asia and explore the role of LNG in the energy transition.