World Energy Outlook 2013: Workshop on ASEAN Energy Outlook

Background

The ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are playing an important part in shifting the centre of gravity of the global energy system toward Asia. To examine the energy outlook for ASEAN, as well as implications for regional and global energy markets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) have jointly organised a one-day workshop, hosted by the Ministry of Energy of Thailand.

The workshop will support a comprehensive analytical study by the IEA, released as a special report in its annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) series at the East Asian Summit Energy Minister’s Meeting in Indonesia during the week of 23 September 2013. This workshop aims to provide essential inputs to the analysis in the following areas:

• Current and emerging trends in ASEAN domestic energy needs. How is the outlook affected by economic growth and what are the key drivers of rapidly growing energy demand in key sectors? What steps can be taken to improve energy access?
• ASEAN energy supply prospects, trade and infrastructure investment. What are the implications of rising oil imports for the region? How will coal and LNG trade evolve and how will it affect the world markets? What level of investment is needed to ensure that electricity supplies keep pace with demand?
• Opportunities to improve energy efficiency in the region. What energy savings are achievable if there were a more rapid uptake of advanced technologies and practices to improve energy efficiency, and what are the costs and benefits of doing so?

This workshop is intended to bring together policymakers, industry representatives and other stakeholders – by invitation only – to exchange views on these questions. The results of the meeting will be instrumental in shaping the key findings and messages of the WEO-2013 ASEAN Energy Outlook special report.

The meeting will be informal in nature and will be held according to the Chatham House Rule, according to which participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. Each session will be introduced with short presentations by invited experts, to be followed by an open discussion.