Gas race focus of Malaysian summit

Members of the European community need to ensure domestic natural gas resources are developed for the sake of energy security, an executive said from Malaysia. International delegates and industry representatives arrived Monday in Kuala Lumpur for the 25th annual World Gas Conference. International Gas Union President Abdul Rahim Hashim touted natural gas as vital for expanding energy needs and environmental sustainability. "Despite intense interests to accelerate the development of 'green energy' for the creation of low carbon economy, natural gas is expected to continue its dominance as the fuel of choice in the coming decades," he said in a statement. Rainer Seele, chairman of the executive board of directors at Wintershall, called on European leaders to take advantage of natural gas or risk losing the energy race to Asian markets. "In order to secure its own gas supply long-term, Europe needs to take urgent action and increase its efforts to develop new sources and reliable transport routes," he said in a statement from Malaysia. India and China are expected to take on more natural gas as their economies expand. Japan was forced to import more natural gas to compensate for the loss of nuclear power after the 2010 meltdown of the Fukushima power plant. The International Energy Agency has said natural gas could pass coal to become the No. 2 source of energy globally.