Your Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Bolkiah,
Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning and a warm welcome to the Singapore Energy Summit, organised by the Energy Market Authority of Singapore and the Energy Studies Institute.  This is the second year we are organising this Summit, which is a platform for high-level strategic dialogue on the pertinent energy issues and challenges of the day. The line-up for today includes Energy Ministers from different countries, top executives from the industry and thought leaders in the energy field. 

We are very pleased to welcome Royal Dutch Shell as our returning sponsor for this event.  I would like to thank Shell for the strong support they have given to the Singapore International Energy Week.  Shell has been a valued investor in Singapore for 120 years, since 1891.  It is a partnership which we hope to continue and to strengthen for many more years ahead.    
 
Earlier today, our Singapore Energy Lecture keynote speaker, Mr Nobuo Tanaka, shared his vision of “Comprehensive Energy Security”.  Indeed, the future of energy security is much more complex and difficult today, and countries will have to work together to secure our energy needs in an economically viable and environmentally sustainable manner.  Mr Tanaka called for an inter-connected grid in Asia, something which countries in ASEAN have been working towards under the ASEAN Power Grid project.  Indeed, as Minister S Iswaran said earlier, there are clear mutual benefits to electricity trade, including by allowing countries to access new energy options that were previously unavailable or economically unfeasible.   
 
Singapore Energy Summit

The first session today continues the discussion on Securing our Energy Future, and will look at international energy trends and the dynamics between energy and climate change. Amidst rising energy costs and the need to lower carbon emissions, the challenge to find energy options that are economically competitive, secure and clean has become even more critical. 

This afternoon, we will be looking at the emergence of smart communities in different parts of the world, and how a smarter use of energy resources and innovative energy solutions in urban planning will help reduce energy consumption and provide a testing ground for new energy technologies and solutions.

This will be followed by a discussion amongst Southeast Asian Ministers on the regional challenges on energy security and new trends in the power industry, to forge the way towards a sustainable energy future.

As a fitting finale, the Summit Dinner will feature a dialogue between prominent energy business luminaries Mr Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell and Mr Jose Gabrielli, CEO of Petrobras.

With a strong line-up of distinguished speakers, I am confident that the discussions at the Summit and the Summit Dinner will be most fruitful and stimulating. 

Singapore International Energy Week

Further to today’s Summit, the Energy Market Authority has also lined up a series of conferences, roundtables and trade exhibitions for the rest of the Week.  These will provide participants with many networking and business opportunities, which is one of the objectives of the Singapore International Energy Week or S.I.E.W for short.

Since S.I.E.W. started in 2008, it has grown significantly over the last four years. This year, we have more than 15,000 participants joining us from around 60 countries.  There has been a 20% increase in exhibitor numbers. On behalf of the Energy Market Authority, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to our sponsors, partners and supporting organisations. 

I am also happy to announce that we are adding three new partner events under the S.I.E.W. umbrella. These are: (a) the inaugural PV Asia Pacific Expo opening on the 1st of November, which will be the largest solar show in the world outside China; (b) Asia Smart Grid on the 2nd of November, which brings together the entire electricity and utilities value chain; and (c) EMART Asia on the 3rd of November, which will be the first Asian installment of the largest energy trading event in Europe.  We warmly welcome our three partner events and look forward to working closely with them to grow their presence at S.I.E.W.

Next year’s S.I.E.W. will be held from 5 to 9 November 2012, and the Energy Market Authority aims to grow it even further. Some new events that we will be adding to S.I.E.W. include the Asia Future Energy Forum and the Gas Asia Summit.  Asia Future Energy Forum is part of the World Future Energy Summit series, and it is the largest renewable energy event in the world.   Gas Asia Summit is a conference dedicated to the natural gas industry, and its inclusion in S.I.E.W. reflects the growing importance of natural gas in the energy mix for many Asian countries.

Over the next few years, the Energy Market Authority will continue to work with our partners to enhance the S.I.E.W. programme line-up and ensure that the event continues to address the energy community’s key interests and challenges. With your continued support, we hope that S.I.E.W. could serve as the platform for policy makers and business leaders from across the world to come together in one week and in one location to network and discuss sustainable energy solutions for the future.

Conclusion

In closing, I wish you all a fruitful week ahead, and an enjoyable stay in Singapore. Thank you.