SINGAPORE, Sept 4 — Six months after the war in the Strait of Hormuz choked off a critical artery for Gulf energy exports, Asian governments are shifting from emergency fuel-saving measures to long-term plans for bigger strategic reserves and storage infrastructure that bypass vulnerable shipping lanes. The crisis began in late February when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran.
Shipping through the strait — the route for most Gulf oil and gas exports — has since been reduced to a trickle by Iranian attacks and a US naval blockade, sending energy prices surging across Asia. Governments responded with price controls, alternate driving days, and work-from-home requirements for some civil servants.
Now the focus has turned to resilience. Parul Bakshi, a visiting research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said the crisis is driving two distinct kinds of investment: “infrastructure that bypasses geopolitical risk, and infrastructure that eliminates exposure to imported fuel altogether.” Japan has emerged as a leading voice for regional energy security. Despite its heavy reliance on Middle Eastern oil and gas, the country has weathered the crisis better than most thanks to large strategic petroleum reserves.
In April, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced the $10 billion POWERR Asia initiative to help Southeast Asian nations secure oil and petroleum products and eventually build larger stockpiles. ## Southeast Asia’s thin buffer The urgency is most acute in Southeast Asia, where reserves run thin. When war broke out, Vietnam held national oil reserves sufficient for only five to seven days, according to state media, though commercial inventories and other sources could stretch supplies by as much as another 65 days.
Thailand had about 61 days of public and private reserves in early March, above its legally mandated minimum of 25 days. The Philippines was estimated to hold between 50 and 60 days in private commercial inventories. All three countries remain below the International Energy Agency’s 90-day benchmark for emergency oil stocks.
That gap has revived efforts in Bangkok and Manila to build government-controlled reserves. Last month, a Philippine parliamentary panel approved legislation proposing a government-held oil reserve equivalent to 60 days of consumption. Thailand is advancing plans for cross-peninsula crude pipelines and tank farms — projects that Ben Kiatkwankul of Bangkok-based Maverick Consulting Group said could position the country as a competitor to Singapore for storing Gulf crude. ## India and the Gulf partners India is also reassessing its position.
The country held about 74 days’ worth of oil stocks as of May, with more than 90 percent controlled by state-owned enterprises, according to S&P Global. In July, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation announced plans to build a reserve of 1.75 million metric tonnes — equivalent to about 13 million barrels — in southern India, alongside an expansion of existing stockpiles by 6.5 million metric tonnes.
Major Asian economies are meanwhile deepening storage ties with Gulf producers. Japan, South Korea, and Singapore already run longstanding partnerships with Middle Eastern countries that allow energy supplies to be stored closer to Asian markets. Clara Gillispie, a senior fellow for climate and energy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said all three have shown interest in expanding existing storage capacity and arrangements.
Watch next for whether Thailand’s pipeline projects and the Philippine reserve legislation clear their remaining hurdles — and whether other Asian capitals follow with storage plans of their own.
