Russia will soon begin participating in Myanmar\u2019s energy industry in place of international companies that quit, the Burmese junta said in response to the exit of three big Asian firms from a gas field in the coup-hit nation.<\/p>\n
Since April 29, the Malaysian and Thai state-owned oil firms and a Japanese energy conglomerate have withdrawn from Myanmar\u2019s Yetagun gas field, with all three citing commercial reasons for pulling out.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s ENEOS also mentioned Myanmar\u2019s \u201ccurrent situation, including the social issues\u201d as one of the reasons for quitting, referring to human rights excesses by the military where nearly 1,800 civilians have been killed since the February 2020 coup.<\/p>\n
The companies quit not because of political instability but because of declining economic benefits from the Yetagun project, Myanmar\u2019s military spokesman told RFA’s Myanmar Service.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur allies and friendly organizations are cooperating with us in the electricity and energy sectors. You will soon see Russia\u2019s cooperation in the near future. We will expand our oil and gas operations as soon as possible,\u201d Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
One political analyst said it would not be surprising if Russia entered Myanmar\u2019s oil and gas industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen democratic countries sever relationships or slap sanctions against a military junta, countries that do not value human standards or rules and regulations will step in for their own benefit. This has happened in many countries,\u201d analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe told RFA..<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been similar incidents in the history of Myanmar.\u201d<\/p>\n
One economist, who requested anonymity, said it was unlikely that Myanmar could find a replacement so soon for the companies that have quit its energy sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia is a very powerful country in the oil world,\u201d the economist said.<\/p>\n
\u201c[E]fforts could be made with them [the Russians] but a sudden replacement is not so easy. It\u2019s not going to work right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Declining output<\/p>\n
While it is true that ENEOS, Malaysia\u2019s Petronas, and Thailand\u2019s PTTEP withdrew from a depleting gas field, the political situation did not help, analysts told BenarNews.<\/p>\n
Besides, said one Southeast Asia observer, the withdrawal of the firms representing two ASEAN nations, even from an unprofitable project, would have been a huge blow to the junta. It had bamboozled the regional bloc by reneging on a consensus among ASEAN members to put the country back on the democratic path.<\/p>\n
The three firms packed up from the Yetagun project because gas output had plummeted, Readul Islam, a Singapore-based energy research analyst, told BenarNews.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Yetagun project produced roughly 3 percent of Myanmar\u2019s 2020 gas output, which already was a steep decline from the project\u2019s 6 percent of Myanmar\u2019s 2019 output,\u201d said Islam, an analyst for Rystad Energy, an independent energy research company, about a field where experts say output had been declining since 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201c[S]o, while the politics certainly don\u2019t help, the Yetagun exits appear to be purely economic decisions,\u201d Islam said.<\/p>\n
BenarNews could not reach the chief executive of PTTEP for comment, nor did officials at Petronas immediately return phone calls or reply to emails.<\/p>\n
Human and civil rights activists have been pressing corporations, especially oil and gas companies, to quit post-coup Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Since the military took over, a slew of companies, not only oil firms, have left. They cited the coup or the subsequent abuses, and said they had also been hobbled by international sanctions imposed on the regime that makes it difficult to do business there.<\/p>\n
Among the international firms that quit Myanmar are British American Tobacco, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Posco, Telenor, TotalEnergy, and Woodside Petroleum.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN factor<\/p>\n
The departures of Petronas and PTTEP from the Yetagun project should be viewed in this context, according to Southeast Asia analyst Zachary Abuza.<\/p>\n
He agreed that Petronas and PTTEP may have left a dying field but, in his view \u2013 at least in the case of Malaysia\u2019s Petronas \u2013 apart from the economics, others reasons motivated the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy takeaway from this is that the Malaysians are frustrated and want to put pressure on the SAC,\u201d said Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, referring to the State Administration Council, the junta\u2019s official name.<\/p>\n
It was different for Thailand\u2019s PTTEP, which, in fact, announced they were taking over the stakes quit by Chevron and TotalEnergy in another Myanmar gas field, Yadana, Abuza acknowledged.<\/p>\n
And yet, \u201c[i]t is a loss for the SAC. It doesn\u2019t look good when your key cash cow, the MOGE (the Ministry of Oil and Gas Enterprises) is losing key investors even if [the oil] fields are not profitable. The optics are bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
What makes it worse for Myanmar, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc, is that state-owned firms from fellow member-states were the ones that quit, Abuza said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese [Malaysian and Thai companies] are ASEAN partners. For the junta, it is probably not a huge surprise that Western oil firms have pulled back, but for ASEAN partners to do so, that has got to sting a bit more,\u201d Abuza said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSymbolism matters for a regime that craves international recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, activist group Justice for Myanmar, told BenarNews that the withdrawal from the Yetagun gas project was a result of the \u201csustained pressure from the people of Myanmar and activists around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the group, more pressure is needed to stop all oil payments to the junta so it cannot use the funds to buy the arms and ammunition it uses to gun down civilians in its brutal nationwide campaign against anyone who opposes the generals\u2019 rule.<\/p>\n
\u201cPTTEP now must go further and suspend payments to the Myanmar military junta from the Yadana and Zawtika projects, or withdraw,\u201d Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice For Myanmar, told BenarNews by email.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese projects bankroll the Myanmar military junta, a terrorist organization, and PTTEP\u2019s continued involvement aids and abets the junta\u2019s \u2026 crimes. \u2026We call on the Thai government to change course and stop business with the junta.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Radio Free Asia –Copyright \u00a9 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036Radio Free Europe–Copyright (c) 2015. RFE\/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia will soon begin participating in Myanmar\u2019s energy industry in place of international companies that quit, the Burmese junta said in response to the exit of three big Asian firms from a gas field in the coup-hit nation.Since April 29, the Malaysi…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n