Potential of Oil Stockpiling at Oil Terminals in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Oil demand in Southeast Asia has increased by 3% per year since 2000, which is faster than the world average. Regional oil production is struggling to keep up. This has resulted in dependency on oil imports from outside the region, reaching 44% in 2015. The import dependency is expected to be higher in the long term, raising concern for oil supply security in Southeast Asia. Many Southeast Asian countries have been working on expanding oil stockpiling and introducing government stockpiling. While some countries have significant oil stockpiling, the stockpile in Southeast Asian countries is generally lower than the International Energy Agency (IEA) standard. A joint stockpiling scheme in the region is an even more distant target. This study analyses the current status and future prospects of oil stockpiling in selected Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries with considerable demand size and geographical proximity: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Chapter 1 describes the oil demand, supply, governance, and industry in these four countries. Chapter 2 examines the current status of oil stockpiling in these countries. Chapter 3 analyses various oil stockpiling options. Chapter 4 summarises the discussion and suggests the way forward.