Manila. ASEAN is currently ironing out the details of its fuel-sharing pact, including identifying the region’s refineries, as the bloc eyes joint stockpiling of energy assets.

Some 55% of ASEAN’s crude imports and 17% of its natural gas supply come from the Middle East, putting the region at risk amid closures at the Strait of Hormuz. The club has been seeking to revive the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA). This to-be-ratified document lays out the legal framework for a regional stockpile for both crude and petroleum products.

Asked whether the planned storage site would be centralized in a single country or scattered across the region, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said that the group was gauging the region’s refinery capacity.

“We are currently doing a study assessing the current situation. Where are all the refineries in ASEAN? Not all member states have them, so we have to take a look at what can be done, individually and collectively,” Kao told the 10th ASEAN Media Forum in Manila.

ASEAN plans to wrap up the assessments by November when the Southeast Asian leaders gather in Manila. ASEAN has called its members to expedite their respective lawmaking processes for the APSA to take into force.

“Let’s not race to become the last country to ratify APSA. Let’s try to be the first to do so,” Kao said.

Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro told the same conference that APSA had proven ASEAN’s relevance and ability to address the Middle East crisis impact.

“ASEAN immediately convened and focused on the very important issues, [such as] energy security. We have come up with not only statements, but actual agreements like the APSA. … It shows how ASEAN is very much answering to the call of the times,” Lazaro said. 

APSA allows members to supply up to 10% of the normal domestic requirements of the country facing shortages. The contributions are on a voluntary and commercial basis. 

Indonesia has proposed hosting the oil storage hub. 

A senior Indonesian diplomat not long ago signaled that the volume of fuel Jakarta would pledge to the reserves would hinge on “national interests” or whether they had enough for its people.

“Each member’s [decision of contributing to APSA] will be guided by domestic needs. National interests will be a barometer for what we can pledge [to the stockpile]. Because it’s not just one country that is facing this [energy crunch],” Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl A Mulachela said.

Reports show that Indonesia’s refining capacity stands at around 1 million barrels per day. Jakarta is a net oil importer, with a huge chunk of its supplies coming from Singapore. The city-state, which is ASEAN’s largest refining center, is capable of processing 1.5 million barrels of crude a day. 

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