Singapore: S Irwaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, painted a favourable picture of Asia’s offshore scene yesterday in opening OSEA, the region’s top oil and gas event.
China and India remain key growth engines, he said, and will likely account for half the global incremental demand for energy from 2011 to 2020. Other fast-growing Asian economies like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam also fuel the demand for energy. Projections indicate that from 2011 to 2016, Asia's energy demand will drive Asian companies to invest about US$29bn on deep-sea exploration, drilling and production. This is more than double the US$12bn spent from 2007 to 2011.
Irwaran said his country was well placed to profit from this growth. Singapore dominates 70% of the global market share in the manufacture of jack-up rigs for offshore drilling, the minister noted.
Describing Singapore's marine and offshore sector as “resilient due to a steady demand for offshore equipment, fuelled by a strong flow of investments in the global energy sector”, Irawan said Singapore’s yards had combined orders of more than $16bn. [28/11/12]
