Following the departure of global energy giants Chevron and Total-Energies in January, Thailand’s PTTEP has said it will take over the Yadana gas field, which is key to Myanmar. The US and French companies have said they will withdraw from operating in Burma as international pressure to cut off financial ties with Burma’s Nasaka government after human rights groups seized control of the country last year.
The Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, which supplies electricity to Myanmar and Thailand, is one of Burma’s largest foreign-funded natural gas projects, earning more than $ 1 billion annually, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Following Total Energies’ decision to withdraw from the Yadana project, PTTEP has carefully considered taking the next step in ensuring uninterrupted supply of natural gas. PTT Exploration and Production Public Company (PTTEP) said in a statement issued on March 14.
PTTEP, a unit of Thai state-owned energy company PTT, will take over operations from July 20 to resume gas production and prevent power outages, he said. The block blocks about 50 percent of Myanmar’s natural gas needs. It blocks 11% of Thailand’s demand. In recent weeks, Burma has been hit by severe power outages and even queues for water in Rangoon, the economic capital, with the Nasaka government blaming rising fuel prices and terrorist attacks on infrastructure. Nasaka says it controls and benefits the country’s vast economy, including oil and gas. Other international companies, including British American Tobacco and French renewable energy company Voltalia, have left operations in Myanmar since February last year.
Source: Daily Eleven