Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP), a unit of Thailand’s state-controlled oil and gas giant PTT, will buy a stake in French oil company TotalEnergies after it announced it was pulling out of Myanmar’s Yadana gas field due to increasingly brutal activities by the military junta and a deteriorating business environment. In a rather lame-English statement on March 14, PTTEP said it would step in as TotalEnergies’ successor “to ensure there are no disruptions” [sic!] Natural gas supply and enhancing long-term energy security, especially under current conditions. ” Pressure from…
Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), a unit of Thailand’s state-controlled oil and gas giant PTT, will acquire French oil company TotalEnergies’ stake in Myanmar’s Yadana gas field. quit It operates due to the increasingly brutal activities of the military junta and declining business conditions.
in a statement In rather broken English published on March 14, PTTEP said it would step in as the successor to TotalEnergies “to ensure there are no disruptions” [sic!] Natural gas supply and enhancing long-term energy security, especially under current conditions. “
pressure from humanitarian groups
Energy groups including TotalEnergies, U.S. Chevron and Australia’s Woodside announced in January that they were pulling out of operations in Myanmar after humanitarian groups stepped up pressure to halt all activities that could send money back to the junta. The military coup took place in February 2021, and violence and human rights violations have escalated since then.
In its statement, PTTEP made no mention of a coup, the widely ostracized junta regime or any atrocities committed by generals that prompted most multinational companies to leave the country. Instead, it highlighted the importance of “cooperation and support” among ASEAN countries and their presence in Myanmar’s oil and gas industry over the past 30 years, “working together to help develop the economy and improve people’s quality of life”. “
Before the exit, TotalEnergies was the operator and majority shareholder of the Yadana field, holding a 31.2% working interest, while Chevron held 28.3%, PTTEP held 25.5% and the Myanmar military-controlled Myanmar oil and gas enterprise held 15%.
Under the PTTEP-TotalEnergies deal, the French company’s stake in Yadana will be handed over to the remaining joint venture partners in a deal without financial compensation.
Oil companies linked to junta get free holdings
The stake in Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise is expected to rise to 21.8% for free, with PTTEP and Chevron’s still-active subsidiary Unocal Myanmar Offshore Company holding 37.1% and 41.1%, respectively. Chevron will later exit the local joint venture.
The transfer of operating rights to PTTEP is expected to be completed on July 20, 2022.
Yadana produces about 770 million standard cubic feet per day, of which 220 million is used to meet 50% of Myanmar’s natural gas needs for power generation, PTTEP said.
The remaining production, 550 million standard cubic feet per day, is exported to Thailand and powers 12 power plants there, accounting for about 11 percent of the country’s natural gas consumption.
