Data availability and accuracy presented a central problem in the writing of this monograph. Unlike many countries, Singapore does not have a Ministry of Energy or other administrative body dealing specifically with energy affairs. Few aspects of Singapore's energy statistics are covered by official sources. Others are incomplete or completely absent. Published and unpublished unofficial sources use varying definitions, accounting conventions, and conversion factors, adding to the problem of accuracy.

Much of the data presented in this study has been estimated on the basis of industry sources. Besides the specialist trade journals, industry personnel who are based in Singapore and who maintain close contacts with the Energy Program of the East-West Center in Honolulu have constituted the most important sources of information for this study. As noted in the introduction, gaps and inconsistencies in the figures presented are unavoidable, and a margin of error is to be expected. Quantitative data and estimates thus require considerable caution.

Consumption Data

The domestic aggregate energy consumption data presented in Chapter 2 draw heavily from the studies done by Ang (1986, 1987, 1988). The data presented in that work are based on many sources including national and international publications, and unpublished data provided by the utilities and oil companies (see Ang 1986, appendix A). Data on domestic consumption of major petroleum products for 1980-87 (Table 2.2), which exclude bunkers and refinery fuel use and loss, were derived from a Singapore-based affiliate of a major oil company. Figures for gasoline consumption include naphtha.

The energy balance for 1986 (Table 2.3) is from the International Energy Agency's study of energy statistics of non-OECD countries, World Energy Statistics and Balances 1971-87. The energy balances given in this source were prepared in close collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, the Statistical Office of the United Nations and the World Energy Conference. Considerable use was made of the World Energy Survey data base of the United Nations. This was supplemented by materials obtained directly from the countries concerned and through wide contacts with industry sources.