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Home Alternative Energy Nuclear Power Haley Zaremba Haley Zaremba is an energy journalist and researcher with more than a decade of professional experience covering global energy systems, land and natural resources, and... More Info Set us as your preferred Google source Premium Content By Haley Zaremba - Oct 05, 2026, 4:00 PM CDT Oil and gas make up 65 percent of Singapore's energy mix and nearly all of it is imported, leaving the city-state exposed after the Strait of Hormuz closure. The IAEA will assess Singapore's nuclear readiness in 2027, though the government says it has not decided whether to deploy nuclear power.
Singapore wants a spot in the global fusion supply chain through precision engineering, advanced manufacturing and plasma diagnostics, not a reactor of its own. Singapore is in an energy pickle. The island nation is still reeling from high oil and gas prices driven by the war in Iran, and is scrambling to build up alternative and indigenous energy sources.
The problem is that there’s almost nowhere to build it. As the second-most densely populated country in the world (after Monaco), Singapore has an enormous need for energy and problematically scarce land parcels on which to develop it. Because of these parameters, Singapore needs to look toward the most energy-dense energy production options, leading the city-state toward nuclear power.
This essentially rules out utility-scale wind and solar farms, which take up enormous tracts of land. And Singapore is not naturally rich in fossil fuels, leaving it heavily dependent on fuel imports from other countries. The composition of Singapore’s energy mix includes a 65 percent share of oil and gas, virtually all of which is imported.
This is precisely what has caused so much pain at the meter as global oil and gas prices have skyrocketed in recent months. When the United States and Israel began their military offensive in Iran in February of this year, one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz, flowing out of oil producing countries in the Middle East and out toward international markets. And about 85 percent of those approximately 18 million barrels per day went directly to Asian markets.
When the Strait of Hormuz closed overnight, this left countries like Singapore in an extremely precarious position. While the government has begun to increase imports of clean energy from other Southeast Asian countries including Lao PDR and Malaysia, experts warn that Singapore “ cannot import its way to energy security ”. As a result, the Singaporean government has spent this year exploring a diverse range of energy alternatives, trying to determine which resources and technologies, or which combination thereof, is best suited to the island’s particular energy needs.
“There is no single solution for Singapore, there is no silver bullet,” Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a speech on May 19. He went on to say that Singapore’s energy strategy has to be “more deliberate, more diversified and more forward-looking than before”. One of the paths that Singapore is pursuing is the development of nuclear energy , both traditional fission models as well as potentially developing nuclear fusion capability.
Next year, the International Atomic Energy Agency will conduct an official assessment as to whether Singapore is ready to produce nuclear energy. The assessment will determine whether Singapore can make an “informed decision” on potentially deploying next-gen nuclear power as a part of its energy portfolio in coming years. In May, Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment hailed the assessment as a key milestone of Singapore’s nuclear capability building journey” in a press release .
However, he hedged “Singapore has not made a decision on the adoption or deployment of nuclear energy.” Rather, Singapore is keeping its options open. Another one of these options is nuclear fusion. "Global developments have given us new impetus to leave no option unexplored in our energy transition, and diligently study and build capabilities in more nascent energy pathways,” Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng said at the FusionX:APAC event earlier this month.
“Fusion energy is one potential pathway we are following closely." At the event, Singapore publicly announced its intention to become a frontrunner in global nuclear fusion supply chains. While Singapore is reluctant to build its own nuclear fusion reactor (a technology which is still unproven in commercial applications) it intends to position itself to be a key player in the sector. "Singapore has built up expertise and a strong talent pipeline in areas relevant to fusion," Tan went on to say.
"This includes in precision engineering, advanced manufacturing, and plasma diagnostics." By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Supreme Court Takes Up Boulder Climate Suit Against Exxon and Suncor EU Electric Vehicle Sales Hit Record as Fuel Prices Surge $9.6 Billion in Southeast Asian Upstream Assets Are for Sale Through 2027 Download The Free Oilprice App Today Back to homepage Haley Zaremba Haley Zaremba is an energy journalist and researcher with more than a decade of professional experience covering global energy systems, land and natural resources, and... More Info Leave a comment EXXON Mobil -0.35 Open 57.81 Trading Vol. 6.96M Previous Vol. 241.7B BUY 57.15 Sell 57.00
