Over 100 GW of Gas-Fired Power Plant Projects in Southeast Asia Are in the Development Stage

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 24, the latest research by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) showed that about 106 GW of gas-fired power generation capacity in Southeast Asia is currently in the development stage, while about 70 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity is also in the development stage, with the two types of infrastructure involving a combined investment of about US$160 billion. Projects "in development" as counted by GEM include announced, pre-construction, and under-construction projects. In 2024, the scale of LNG import capacity under development in Southeast Asia as counted by the organization was about 47 million tons per year, and that scale has now expanded significantly.

GEM data show that in the first half of 2026, the scale of gas-fired power generation under development in Southeast Asia fell from 113.4 GW to about 106 GW; during the same period, project progress diverged markedly across countries. Malaysia had 4.2 GW of gas-fired power generation projects enter the construction stage, with no projects shelved or canceled. As of August, Malaysia had a total of 10.8 GW of projects in the development stage, of which 5.3 GW had already entered construction. During the same period, the Philippines had 11.2 GW of projects shelved or canceled, and as of August still had about 13.8 GW of projects in the development stage, of which about 83% remained at the project announcement stage, with no related development capacity yet entering construction.

LNG receiving infrastructure also showed differing progress. Over the past year, Thailand's LNG import capacity in the development stage remained at 10.8 million tons per year, of which 5 million tons per year had already entered construction; Vietnam's development scale during the same period increased from 25.9 million tons per year to 35.8 million tons per year, of which 6.7 million tons per year is under construction. GEM also noted that as of September 2025, about 65 million tons per year of LNG import capacity in Southeast Asia had been shelved or canceled, a scale close to the region's approximately 63 million tons per year of operational import capacity at that time; for the full year of 2025, more than 35 GW of gas-fired power generation capacity in the region was also shelved or canceled.

Natural gas supply is an important variable in the development of the above projects. According to GEM statistics, at least 20 gas fields in Southeast Asia are expected to add a combined natural gas production capacity of about 62 billion cubic meters per year by 2035, but development cycles, market destinations, and commissioning times differ across projects. International Energy Agency data show that before the situation in the Middle East changed, about one-third of Southeast Asia's natural gas imports came from the Middle East; in 2025, LNG from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates transported through the Strait of Hormuz accounted for nearly 20% of global LNG trade, of which nearly 90% was shipped to Asian markets.

On prices, GEM cited market data saying that the average Asian spot LNG price in the second quarter of 2026 was about US$17.5 per million British thermal units, up 45% year on year. During the same period, Asian natural gas demand was expected to decrease by about 0.5%, equivalent to about 5 billion cubic meters. The natural gas market report released by the International Energy Agency in July showed that after the Middle East supply disruption, LNG shipments from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from March to June decreased by about 35 billion cubic meters year on year, with new supply from North America, Africa, and other regions offsetting about three-quarters of that decline.