Philippine Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has said Manila is exploring regional fuel-storage arrangements and could host future storage facilities, Reuters reported.
Analysts said stockpiling serves as a buffer when there is a sudden disruption, rather than a long-term solution.
“They are … costly to build and maintain, and Southeast Asian countries have very different levels of storage capacity and fiscal resources. It may not be realistic for every country to maintain very large reserves on its own due to these reasons,” said Lin.
She added that stockpiling needed to be part of a much wider approach that includes diversification, regional connectivity and better crisis preparedness.
Reserves have “obvious limitations”, agreed Tan-Soo Jie Sheng, assistant professor and director of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
“A 30-, 60- or 90-day reserve does little for a prolonged disruption,” he said. “Stocks also require storage capacity, financing, inventory management and very clear rules on ownership and usage.”
He stressed that governments also need contingency plans for managing demand.
“For instance, which uses of fuel are essential, how can public transport absorb additional demand, how should vulnerable households be supported if prices rise, should support come through blanket petrol subsidies or more targeted assistance?”
“Stockpiling is therefore valuable because it buys time. But buying time should not be confused with addressing the structural causes of energy vulnerability,” he warned.
The IEA said ASEAN countries can strengthen domestic oil resilience by building more robust stockholding policies, demand-side measures and clear crisis procedures.
For instance, countries with domestic resources can consider how to increase production through predictable fiscal regimes that are supportive of investment, the review said.
An additional issue is that many countries in the region subsidise or regulate petrol and other fuel prices, said Tan-Soo.
“While this is important for protecting households, especially during a sudden price spike, the subsidy does not make the external shock disappear as it transfers the cost from household budgets to the government budget,” he said.
“And if consumers are insulated from higher prices, there is also less incentive to reduce fuel consumption when supply is tight.”
The crisis has also raised questions about how quickly ASEAN’s existing energy-security mechanisms can be put into practice. While member states have agreed on the principle of greater cooperation, implementing those plans can take time.
Turning regional commitments into working arrangements for information sharing, emergency response and cross-border support will be increasingly important as the region’s energy needs grow, IEA said.
But coordinated energy security measures “must reflect different national circumstances”. Several ASEAN countries still rely significantly on coal for power generation and industry and will need a reliable supply and ways to diversify away from it, it cited.
In 2024, coal accounted for 71 per cent of Indonesia’s electricity generation and 62.5 per cent of the Philippines’ electricity generation, according to IEA data.
