Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) energy ministers have warned that escalating tensions in the Middle East could disrupt not only crude oil flows but also refined fuel and fertilizer supply chains, raising broader risks for inflation and economic activity across the region.

In a joint statement following a Special ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) on April 27, the bloc narrowed its focus on downstream vulnerabilities, particularly fuels critical to transport and industry.

Ministers “noted potential implications not only for crude oil and natural gas, but also for the supply and pricing of critical refined petroleum products, particularly diesel, gasoil, naphtha, liquefied gases and other energy-related inputs, including fertilisers, which underpin economic activities, including urban services, food security, industrial production, and transport systems.”

The statement signals growing concern that supply disruptions could feed more directly into food systems, logistics costs, and manufacturing inputs—key inflation channels for import-dependent ASEAN economies.

The bloc also reiterated risks to maritime energy trade, stressing the need to keep key routes open.

The ASEAN ministers “underscored the importance of maintaining secure and open sea lanes, ensuring freedom of navigation, the safe, unimpeded and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in straits used for international navigation, and minimising disruptions to energy trade flows in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The blog also renewed its push for the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Petroleum Security (APSA), calling for faster national ratification to strengthen coordinated emergency response.

“We underscored the importance of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Petroleum Security (APSA) as a key regional mechanism to enhance preparedness and collective response to potential oil and gas supply disruptions,” the statement said, urging “the expeditious completion of national processes towards its ratification.”

In the joint statement, the ministers also flagged wider spillover risks to transport, logistics, tourism, MSMEs, and food security, alongside continued exposure to external supply shocks as regional energy demand grows.

The bloc said it will continue monitoring developments through its energy bodies and maintain coordination with partners, while advancing longer-term measures including energy diversification, efficiency, and cross-border power integration.

ASEAN reaffirmed its longer-term energy transition commitments under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026–2030, including targets to reduce energy intensity by 40% and raise renewable energy’s share to 30% of total primary energy supply and 45% of installed power capacity by 2030. Ministers said stronger efficiency measures and energy diversification will be key to cushioning the region from external shocks.

Does ASEAN need to go beyond crude oil safeguards and start securing refined fuels and fertiliser-linked supply chains as part of its energy security strategy?

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