Gas as a Fuel for a Sustainable Energy Transition in Southeast Asia

Yesterday, the 13th of February 2025, the President of the International Gas Union (IGU), Madam Li Yalan, delivered the Opening Address at MyGAS2025 – the Malaysian Gas Symposium – organised by the Malaysian Gas Association and supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Economy, and the IGU.

Themed “Fuelling a Sustainable Gas Industry’s Transition”, MyGAS 2025 took place at the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and enjoyed the presence of over 250 participants from across the globe, including prominent Gas industry players, government officials, academics and thought leaders.

In her Opening Address, the President of the IGU remarked that “Asia is the engine for the development of the global Gas industry, with Malaysia playing a crucial role given its rich gas reserves, and its increasing LNG production capacity.”

In addition, Madam Li pointed out that “the lack of investments and an increased capital cost for Gas developments will endanger the regional – and global – energy security, and weaken the industry’s capability to provide affordable, reliable and sustainable to consumers.”

Adding to a very strong IGU presence at the event, our Vice President – Mr Andrea Stegher – took to the stage where he joined a line-up of global panellists discussing the “Global Perspectives on Access to Finance for the Future Gas Industry”.

In his remarks, Mr Stegher argued that ”as the voice of the global Gas industry, it’s incumbent upon us to foster a much tighter dialogue with the international financial institutions, as energy and gas projects require a long lead time, as their value chain is very different.”

Once the formal proceedings of MyGAS2025 concluded, our President and Vice President organised, with the support of the Malaysian Gas Association, an informal round table discussion with the Malaysian Gas industry’s young professionals.

Madam Yalan’s rousing and highly motivational speech to the 80+ young people in the room was met with a round of applauds, as she had taken the participants through three key pillars they need to succeed in their careers, viewed through the prism of her own professional journey as the first female President of the IGU and the only woman in China known as “the Gas lady”: responsibility, persistence and deep thinking.

During almost two hours of an extremely productive and enjoyable Q&A session with the young talent of Malaysia, IGU’s Vice President answered a variety of questions while also sharing with attendees his professional journey, the milestones one needs to overcome from a leadership and teamwork perspective, as well as key points related to the complexities of the energy transition, trilemma, realities and complexities.