asean gazoduc 17 jul 02

nhân dân

MoU on trans-ASEAN gas pipeline construction signed

Ten ASEAN Energy Ministers have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on building a trans-ASEAN gas pipeline from now until 2010 at the ASEAN Energy Ministerial Meeting recently wrapped up in Bali, Indonesia.

Under the MoU, the 4,200 kilometres pipeline will be built at a cost of US $7 billion with seven systems connecting to oilfiels of Vietnam, the Philippines, Sumatra and Kalimatan islands of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Gulf of Thailand.

According to the director of the Industry Ministry's External Relations Department, Tran Minh Huan, the MoU will create a legal framework for the implementation of the gas pipeline construction project, particularly the cross-border gas trading, thus helping to ensure energy safety and the efficiency of gas supply to ASEAN member countries.

The ASEAN Oil and Gas Council in charge of the project will set up an ASEAN Gas Consultancy Council to conduct research on the implementation of the project, especially building the pipeline running through international waters as well as ensuring gas supply, distribution and transportation, Mr Huan further said.

The MoU is scheduled to be submitted to the ASEAN governments for approval before the end of this year. (VNA)

people's daily

Thailand has joined other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) insigning a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline (TAGP) Project, the Thai News Agency reported Saturday.

Minister to the Prime Minister's Office Phongthep Thepkanjana was quoted as saying on Friday that the MOU on TAGP project was signed at the 20th ASEAN Energy Ministers' Meeting, held in Nusa Dua of Indonesia' resort island of Bali on July 5.

Phongthep, who oversees the National Energy Policy Office (NEPO), attended the meeting and signed the MOU on behalf of the Thai government.

Phongthep said that the MOU would be used as a broad framework among ASEAN member countries in coordinating and cooperating in studying the utilization, marketing, sale, and distribution of national gas.

The MOU would also be used as a central framework to push for the implementation and achievement of the TAGP project, he noted.

The TAGP project, which is expected to be funded by the total budget of seven billion US dollars, will link the 10-nation grouping's key natural gas distribution centers with the pipeline structure which connects with natural gas sources in the Gulf of Thailand, Sumatra, and the South China Sea, according to the Minister.

Seven potential interconnections have been identified under theTAGP project involving a total length of 4,500 km, four of which involve the supply of gas from Indonesia to neighboring ASEAN countries.

ASEAN now groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.