Gas Shortages and High Prices Derail Southeast Asia’s Power Buildout

Southeast Asia is falling short of its ambitious projects to boost gas-fired power generation to meet growing electricity demand and replace some of the coal use. Fuel availability, volatile prices, and supply chain bottlenecks threaten to drive up costs and delay projects by years, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie says. Six of the biggest Southeast Asian economies and power markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines – are set to deliver only a third of their combined planned gas-fired power capacity…

Refining & Products Context

Downstream margins — or crack spreads — have experienced considerable volatility as refinery operators navigate feedstock cost fluctuations, product demand seasonality, and evolving fuel specifications. Gasoline and distillate margins serve as key profitability levers for integrated refiners.

Refinery utilization rates, particularly in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Northwest European hubs, directly influence product availability and pricing. Unplanned outages, scheduled turnarounds, and weather-related disruptions are recurring factors that tighten regional product supply.

What to Watch

Key metrics to watch include refinery utilization rates, weekly distillate inventory builds or draws, and crack spread movements, which serve as real-time indicators of refining profitability across major processing hubs.