Energy Security Indexes: A survey with application to Singapore

Abstract

Energy security is an important issue for Singapore, a country which depends mainly on energy imports to satisfy its energy needs. Existing studies on Singapore?s energy security have mainly been cross-country studies. An in-depth study which considers Singapore?s unique energy profile and circumstances is lacking. This thesis attempts to bridge this gap by examining what energy security means for Singapore and how best to measure Singapore?s energy security. The contributions of this thesis include a review on energy security definitions and energy security indexes, and also the proposal of a three dimensional index framework to measure Singapore?s energy security. The implemented Singapore Energy Security Index (SESI) shows that Singapore?s energy security has been stable in the study period (1990-2010). However, a closer examination of the sub-indexes reveals that while the energy supply chain and environmental sub-indexes have improved moderately, these improvements have been offset by a decline in the economic sub-index.