Posts in category: ENERGY

According to local petrol stations, the average price of petrol has risen by more than 33% in three months, from 990 kyats to nearly 1,100 kyats per liter depending on the type of petrol in the country. On February 3, the price of diesel was 660 kyats per liter. Premium diesel 600 kyats. Octane 92 Ron 620 kyats per liter; Octane 95 Ron is only 50 kyats per liter, according to figures released by the Myanmar Petroleum Importers and Distributors Association (MPTA). At present, on May 13, diesel costs 995 kyats per liter. Premium diesel 1015 kyats. Octane 92 Ron 995 kyats per liter. Octane 95 Ron per liter up to 1,080 kyats, according to local petrol stations.

In the first three months from the beginning of February until now, the price of diesel and premium diesel was over 330 kyats per liter. Octane 92Ron over 370 kyats per liter; Octane 95Ron rose to over 330 kyats per liter, respectively. According to the above prices, diesel prices rose more than 33% per liter during the three months. Octane 92Ron increased by more than 37% per liter and 95Ron octane by more than 30% per liter. Now people have to pay only 4,000 kyats for the four thousand kyats. They can go with six thousand. Now it costs about three liters to send it back. Not bad if you get your order back. The price cannot be increased. Passengers also have to wait in line to withdraw money, as money is now a problem. So it can’t be asked them to increase oil prices now as before. It is a problem for all drivers.

Myanmar imports around six million tonnes of kerosene a year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, only 2.7 million tonnes of kerosene was imported worth $ 1.2 billion, down from more than one million tonnes in the same period last year, according to an official from the Ministry of Commerce. In the current fiscal year, imports of kerosene fell by 1,002 million tonnes, down $ 663.347 million from the same period last year. During that period, 1.66 million tonnes of diesel was imported, valued at $ 721.173 million. It is down more than 650,000 tonnes, down more than $ 430 million from the same period last year. More than one million tonnes of oil was imported, valued at $ 536.113 million. It was down more than 350,000 tonnes from the same period last year, valued at $ 227.18 billion.

Source: Daily Eleven

Myanmar’s exports of natural gas in the seven months (Oct-Apr) of the current financial year2020-2021 amounted to US$1.238 billion, the Commerce Ministry’s data showed. The figures indicated a sharp drop of $880 million compared to the year-ago period. During the corresponding period of last FY, Myanmar’s natural gas export generated an income of $2.124 billion. Natural gas is included in the list of major export items of Myanmar. Over 10 per cent of the country’s total export earnings come from the sale of natural gas.

There are 53 onshore blocks and 51 offshore blocks, totalling 104 blocks. A total of 25 onshore blocks and 31 offshore blocks are operating under foreign investment. Natural gas extraction is being made at the Yadana, the Yedagun, the Shwe, and the Zaw Tika offshore blocks and onshore drilling blocks. According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, yearly extraction is elevated to cubic feet 670.36 billion from 600 billion last year. The Shwe natural gas field, located offshore from Rakhine State, was discovered in 2014. Natural gas extracted from the area is exported to China.

The Yadana natural gas project is being carried out by the TOTAL Company, with its pipeline supplying natural gas to Thailand. Natural gas is also extracted in Yedagun, located offshore from Taninthayi and discovered in 1992. The Zawtika Project in the Gulf of Moattama mainly supplies natural gas to neighbouring Thailand. Production at Yadana and Yedagun is declining, and those projects will be halted in the coming years. Myanmar’s exports of natural gas stood at $3.5 billion in the 2019-2020 FY, $3.9 billion in the 2018-2019 FY, $3.5 billion in the 2017-2018FY, $3.116 billion in the 2016-2017 FY, and $3.445 billion in the 2015-2016 FY, as per Commerce Ministry data.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) held its 3/2021 meeting yesterday morning at the Office of the State Administration Council Office at office No 18 in Nay Pyi Taw. Member of the State Administration Council Chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission Lieutenant-General  Moe Myint Tun and members of the Myanmar Investment Commission participated in the meeting.

The meeting approved fifteen new projects for electricity generation, livestock, manufacturing and other services sectors, and it also approved the increase in capital of two existing projects. The approved projects amounted to US$ 2,783.822 million and K153.67 billion to create 2,473 job opportunities for the local labours. In today’s meeting, the project to generate electricity from LNG with a large capital intensive investment amount of US$2.5 billion is included in the approved projects.

The electricity generated by the power plant will be sold cent per cent at home, and it is expected to support the goal of 100% nationwide electrification from the national grid by 2030. By the end of April 2021, the countries with the largest investment out of 51 countries/regions investing in Myanmar were Singapore, China, and Thailand. The electric power sector leads the list of most invested sectors out of 12 business sectors with 26.57% of total investment. It was followed by the oil and gas sector, accounting for 25.72% and the manufacturing industry, accounting for 14.61%.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar emphasizes the improvement of the renewable energy sector by generating 60.3 per cent of electricity from hydropower, 35.6 per cent from natural gas and 4.1 per cent from solar, coal and diesel up to the end of 2020. According to the data, a target was set to increase 12 per cent electricity generation from renewable energy in 2025. In so doing, the Department of Rural Development under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation takes responsibilities for rural electrification in the villages, the off-grid areas.

Rural electrification has been implemented since the 2012-2013 financial year. Up to 2015-2016 financial year, a total of 4,807 villages could be electrified across the nation using renewable energy such as solar, small-scale hydropower and biomass with 30 megawatts of installed capacity. Setting an aim to electrify the whole country in 2030, a US$90 million loan was borrowed from the World Bank through the international development association-IDA loan for implementation of the NEP-national electrification plan (off-grid) in addition to the State budget and contributions of the people.

The small-scale power project based on less than 1-megawatt renewable energy was implemented in the 2016-2017 budget year. During the period from 2016-2017FY to 2019-2020FY, 414,461 households from 9,063 villages were electrified through the household solar system, 59,807 sets of the public solar system installed at the schools, dispensaries, religious schools and lamp-posts, solar, hydropower and paddy husk-fired power facilities at 99 project sites and some 30,085 households from 119 villages.

In the projects, the installed capacity of electrification reached 43.956 megawatts. The projects were implemented with the World Bank loan, the State budget, public contribution, the euro 30 million loan from Italy, euro 9 million assistance from KfW and euro 4.87 million for technical assistance from GIZ and the New Zealand government. Currently, the off-grid electrification project benefited some 2.22 million people. In 2020-2021FY, the household solar system will be implemented to benefit 48,974 houses from 757 villages, while 17 small-scale solar power projects will be undertaken with 4,704 sets of public solar systems.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

The domestic fuel oil price has now risen above 50 per cent per litre in three months, as the heightened coronavirus restriction and possible lockdown in Asia sparked oil demand concerns, coupled with a strong dollar exchange rate. The fuel oil was pegged at around K590 per litre for Octane 92, K610 for Octane 95, K590 for diesel and K605 for premium diesel in early February 2021 in the domestic retail market. Then, it remarkably rose to K920 for Octane 92, K1,005 for Octane 95, K920 for diesel and K930 for premium diesel on 25 April 2021, according to the local fuel oil market. Domestic oil price is positively related to the global market.

Oil price inched higher in the global market at US$62.14 per barrel for WTI crude and $66.11 for Brent crude on 24 April. Additionally, the foreign exchange rate also affects the petroleum price. The US dollar is gaining against Kyat in the local forex market in April, rising above K1,600 per dollar. In mid-February, a dollar was worth K1,430. Usually, Myanmar imports fuel oil primarily from Singapore, with monthly volumes touching 200,000 tonnes for gasoline and 400,000 tonnes for diesel. There are about 2,000 fuel stations and over 50 oil importer companies in Myanmar, Myanmar Petroleum Trade Association stated. A monthly oil import is estimated at $400 million, yet the oil importers face banking restrictions for maritime trade.

Oil importers via land border can use informal payment Hundi system instead, said an importer. The domestic oil prices have declined from 10 January 2020 owing to a fall in global oil prices. On 8 January 2020, oil prices were pegged at around K905 per litre for Octane 92, K995 for Octane 95, and K985 for diesel and premium diesel. Following the global market crashing, the domestic oil price plunged to more than 50 per cent in April against January’s prices. In late April 2020, the oil prices touched a low of K290-330 per litre for Octane 92, K430-455 for Octane 95, K435-465 for diesel, and K445-475 for premium diesel, according to the domestic oil market.  Ninety per cent of fuel oil in Myanmar is imported, while the remaining 10 per cent is produced locally. In the Q1 of the current financial year2020-2021, about $600 million worth of petroleum products were imported. The figure plunged by half compared to a year-ago period, the Ministry of Commerce stated. 

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

The giant French energy company “Total” will not suspend gas production in Myanmar, a company official said on April 4. In the wake of the escalating crackdown on protests in Burma, there have been widespread calls for international companies to suspend operations in the interests of the military. Total Company’s gas production supplies millions of people in Rangoon, Myanmar, as well as western Thailand, so the company has a responsibility to continue operating in Myanmar, said Patrick Puyan, chief executive officer of the company.

Should a company like Total make a decision that would cut off power to millions of people and affect hospitals and operation, said in an interview with a French newspaper. The chief executive officer said he was outraged by the repression in Burma, but refused to do anything that would further harm local staff and the people of Burma, who are currently suffering. Italy’s Benetton and Sweden’s H&M have suspended all new orders from Myanmar, while French energy giant EDF has suspended operations, including a $ 1.5 billion hydropower project.

The Burmese oil and gas industry, which is controlled by the military, is owned by Total. It has a joint venture with US energy company Chevron, which generates around $ 1 billion a year from gas sales, according to AFP. Total paid around $ 230 million in taxes and production rights to the Myanmar government in fiscal 2019, and $ 176 million in 2020, according to the company’s financial statements. According to Puyan, Total has not been able to pay around $ 4 million a month in taxes since the military shut down after the military took power in Burma, and will donate the equivalent amount of revenue owed to the Burmese government to human rights groups in Burma, according to the company’s chief executive.

Source: Daily Eleven

The State Administration Council held the meeting of the Management Committee at its headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw on 25 February, 2021. Chairman of the Council and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing delivered a speech at the meeting, which was attended by Vice-Chairman of the Council and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services and Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe Win, the Union Ministers and the Attorney-General of the Union.

In his discussion, the Senior General talked about the progress in the rule of law in nearly one-month since the Council took the power of the country, containment measures against COVID-19 with 1.4 million infection and about 3,200 deaths in Myanmar and the possibility of higher figures due to the crowds in previous weeks, the negative impacts on healthcare services due to civil disobedience movement of health workers, possible legal actions of relevant ministries against those who disturb the reopening of hospitals, vaccination programme for COVID-19, import permits for the private pharmaceutical companies, and reopening of schools.

He also discussed the promotion of the agricultural sector for food sufficiency of the country, livestock and fish breeding farms, commercial production of foodstuffs, the use of irrigation water for the agricultural sector, generation of electricity from hydro and solar powers, promotion of Myanmar martial arts for the health of people, raising fund for the public hospitals to provide free healthcare services for the civil service personnel at the initial stage.

The Senior General continued to reduce fuel requirement in the country, with manufacturing electric cars by the relevant ministries for the urban public transport, the need for urgent completion of Yangon-Mandalay railway project jointly implemented by Japan and reduction of fuel and cooking oil imports to decrease trade deficiencies. The Union Ministers and the Attorney-General of the Union reported signing agreements, the appointment of duties, exemptions and extension of duties. The Union Ministers also discussed fish breeding projects, systematic spending of state revenue, social welfare funds, healthcare services at the hospitals, school reopening programme, implementation of hydropower projects and organizing celebrations of ethnic festivals.

In response to the reports, the Senior General gave guidance on the appointment of civil service personnel, fair management on them without bias, the award for dutiful persons, punishment for the failure of duties, lesser consumption of cooking oil with changing consumption habits for better health. He advised conducting research and development programme, not to mention the unfruitful information on social media, suspension to pay back the two-month salary loans for the civil service personnel, development of Nay Pyi Taw area, reopening of factories and workplaces without posing negative impacts on the environment, attraction to foreign investments and the establishment of 81-ft high marble Buddha image in sitting posture in Nay Pyi Taw.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

World oil prices (WTI) were around $ 60 a barrel on February 17, 2021, and petrol prices in the domestic market continued to rise by 105 kyat per liter in 17 days, according to petrol stations in Rangoon. Compared to February 1, 20 and February 17, 2021, the price of petrol has risen by 105 kyats per liter. On February 17, the price of diesel sold at some petrol stations in Rangoon was 800 kyats per liter (3,523 kyats per gallon); Premium diesel 810 kyats per liter (3568 kyats per gallon); Octane 92 Ron 760 kyats per liter (3341 kyats per gallon); Octane 95 Ron is 870 kyats per liter (3841 kyats per gallon). WTI oil prices rose to $ 76 on October 3, 2018, and then fell again to around $ 42 on December 24. On April 23, 2019, it rose to $ 66. It then dropped to $ 51 on June 12, rose above $ 60 on July 10, and dropped to $ 51 on August 7. 

It fell to around $ 53 on Sept. 3 and rose to around $ 62 on Sept. 16 to $ 55 on Nov. 19; On November 29, $ 58; On December 4, $ 56; On January 8, $ 63; On January 15, $ 57; On February 22, $ 53. On March 7, it was $ 41. On March 18, around $ 20.  It fell below zero on April 20 and rebounded to around $ 48 on December 18. In the four months from June to October 2018, when the dollar price and world oil prices were higher, the price of domestic petrol rose by more than 21%. 95 Ron 1115 kyats. Diesel 1095 kyats. Premium diesel up to 1105 kyats. From January to May 2020, due to the fall in global oil prices, the domestic market also fell in price. On May 1, the price of diesel sold at some petrol stations in Rangoon was 435 kyats (1 liter 1977 kyats) per liter; Premium diesel 445 kyats per liter (2022 kyats per gallon); Octane 92 Ron 300 kyats per liter (1363 kyats per gallon) Octane 95 Ron per liter 435 kyats (1977 kyats per gallon). From November 6 to 19, 2019, the price of domestic kerosene fluctuated from 10 to 35 kyats per liter from the end of 2019 until now. 

From November 21 to 29, it rose from 25 kyats to 35 kyats per liter, and from November 29 to December 9, it dropped to 25 kyats per liter. From December 13 to January 9, 2020, it rose from 20 to 30 kyats per liter, and from January 8 to May 1, it dropped from 550 kyats to 605 kyats per liter.  From May 6 to August 14, it rose from 155 kyats to 240 kyats per liter, fell from 15 kyats per liter between August 14 and 18, and rose again by 10 kyats per liter on August 27. From September 8 to 10, 20 kyats per liter; From September 11 to November 4, it dropped from 10 to 30 kyats per liter, and from November 11 to 2021. 160 kyats per liter during January 31; From February 1 to February 17, it was 105 kyats per liter. In the domestic market, the retail prices of kerosene on April 1, 2016 were 500 kyats per liter for diesel (2270 kyats per gallon), 540 kyats per liter for premium diesel (2451 kyats per gallon); Octane 92 Ron 550 kyats per liter (2497 kyats per gallon) Octane 95 Ron per liter 650 kyats (2951 kyats per gallon).

Source: Daily Eleven

The Ministry of Electricity and Energy is implementing 29 solar power projects, with the installed capacity of 1,030 megawatts, to generate electricity in mid-2021, according to the 4th coordination meeting of National Renewable Energy Committee on 29th January,2021. The committee meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw and it was attended by Union Minister for Electricity and Energy U Win Khaing as the chairman, Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr Aung Thu as the vice chairman, Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win, Union Minister for Transport and Communications U Thant Sin Maung, Union Attorney-General U Tun Tun Oo and committee members.

At the meeting, Union Minister U Win Khaing said that the committee has organized three meetings since it was formed in February 2019, and could work for the improvement of renewable energy in Myanmar’s Energy Mix, opening the first solar power plant in Myanmar with 40 MW capacity in Minbu on 27 June 2019, the 0.5 MW solar power plant in Manaungkyun on 19 December 2019 inaugurated by the State Counsellor. The 0.5 MW solar power plant in Cocogyun Township began electricity generation for 24 hours every day since 4 January 2021. After completing the ongoing solar projects, Myanmar’s energy mix for electricity generation would be 40 per cent from hydropower, 14 per cent from solar, 3 per cent from domestic natural gas, 11 per cent from liquified natural gas and 1 per cent from other sources.

When the installed capacity reached 8,118 MW, the power generation from renewable energy will account for 54 per cent and 45 per cent from clean fuel. The country has met international policies for renewable energy and exceeded the expectation of ASEAN on renewable energy. The electrification ratio of the country has reached over 58 per cent, and renewable energy would significantly contribute in 75 per cent coverage of electricity in the country. Moreover, the electricity supply in Yangon and Mandalay region is targeted to reach 75 per cent this year, while Myanmar has pledged at the Climate Ambition Summit which was held on 12 December last year as the preliminary event of COP 26 Climate Change Conference that will take place in Britain at the end of this year to develop up to 39 per cent of renewable energy in the country’s electricity ratio.

Under the Nationally Determined Contribution, which is aimed for the reduction of climate change, Myanmar is working to reduce carbon dioxide emission from 297 million tonnes of the present to 144 million tonnes in 2030. Union Minister U Win Khaing also talked about the works of Department of Rural Development to set up solar mini-grid and solar home system in remote and rural areas, increasing 5 per cent of electrification rate in the country. The MoEE will implement the floating solar project in collaboration with the MoALI, and the solar-power plant with the MoPFI. The meeting was attended by ministerial officials, Yangon City Mayor U Maung Maung Soe, Mandalay City Development Committee member Dr Thit Sin and senior members of relevant organizations via online.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) held its first meeting for the year yesterday via videoconference. The meeting chaired by Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and Chairman of the MIC, U Thaung Tun was attended by Vice-Chairman Dr Than Myint, Union Minister for Commerce and members of the Commission.

The meeting approved 14 new investments proposals and increase in capital in 4 existing projects. The approved investments in the energy, fisheries, real estate and services sectors totalled US$295.279 million and Kyat 153.686 billion. The projects are expected to create 4,371 job opportunities. The approved projects include four 40-MW solar power projects in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway Regions as well as a fish meal factory proposal submitted by Scoular Myanmar Co., Ltd.

The solar power projects are in keeping with Myanmar’s commitment to tackle climate change. At the virtual Climate Ambition Summit held on 12 December 2020, the State Counsellor announced Myanmar’s intention to submit its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The NDC will aim to reduce over 243 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by increasing the share of renewable energy to 39% and reducing the net emission from the forestry sector by 25%. It is learnt that Singapore, the People’s Republic of China and Thailand head the list of 51 countries investing in Myanmar. 

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar