Enel, Marubeni to Explore Opportunities in Gas Fired Power Generation Sector in Asia Pacific

Italy’s Enel and the Japanese company Marubeni Corporation will together explore for opportunities in the gas generation sector in the Asia-Pacific region.

In this regard the two parties signed a memorandum of understand (MoU) on Monday.

The partnership, which follows the agreement signed in 2015 between the two groups in the renewable energy sector, will extend to projects for the construction of natural gas-fired plants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

"The Asia-Pacific region is a key area of interest for us, and also offers many opportunities in conventional generation. The agreement will combine Enel's considerable expertise in managing over 47 GW of thermal generation plants in three continents with the experience and major presence of Marubeni in south-east Asia,” commented Enrico Viale, Head of Enel's Global Thermal Generation.

Under the terms of the MoU, opportunities for joint development will be governed by subsequent individual agreements that will define, among other aspects, the investment structure, the financing plan and the shareholding structure of an eventual joint venture.

Energy landscape in Southeast Asia is undergoing a major shift as domestic demand continues to race ahead. According to International Energy Agency (IEA), as domestic natural gas demand outpaces indigenous production, intra-regional and intra-country trade increases, Southeast Asia will turn into a net gas importer of around 10 bcm by 2040, compared with net exports of 54 bcm in 2013.

IEA says electricity demand would almost triple by 2040, an increase greater than the current power output of Japan. Although coal still remains the dominant fuel, greater focus on pollution reduction will lead to demand growth in gas fired power plants.