Page 8 - AsianOil Week 21 2021

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applicable sanctions issued by the EU or the US gas-to-power project involving in the Ayeyar-
authorities.” wady region. PTTEP will develop the 592-MW
Adani Ports, meanwhile, said in a May 4 project under a 20-year BOT model, with an
exchange filing that it might abandon its con- optional five-year extension.
tainer terminal project in Yangon if the invest- PTTEP CEO Phongsthorn Thavisin said at
ment was deemed to violate US sanctions. the time that the move was the company’s “first
“In a scenario wherein Myanmar is classified step in extending our business along the gas
as a sanctioned country under the Office of For- value chain in Myanmar.”
eign Assets Control [OFAC], or if OFAC opines While PTTEP has said the project could face
that the project violates the current sanctions, delays in the wake of the February coup, it has
[Adani Ports] plans to abandon the project and refrained from directly commenting on Myan-
write down the investments,” the company said. mar’s domestic situation. Nor should one expect
The situation for PTT, however, is more the company to offer any such comment, given
difficult. Thailand’s own political situation.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai political
Thais that bind scientist who specialises in Southeast Asian
PTT has a number of commercial interests in politics, noted in an April article in the New
Myanmar and has been expanding and diversi- York Times that Bangkok was loathe to criticise
fying its position in the country in recent years. Myanmar’s coup, given that Thai Prime Minis-
Thailand has depended heavily on gas from ter and former general Prayuth Chan-ocha led
Myanmar, with the offshore Yadana, Yetagun Thailand’s 2014 coup.
and Zawtika fields all pumping gas across the Chachavalpongpun pointed out that both the
border. But dwindling supplies from the fields, Myanmar and Thai militaries had drafted the lat-
as well as falling production at home, have forced est versions of their constitutions – in 2008 and
PTT to diversify into liquefied natural gas (LNG) 2016 respectively. Moreover, when Myanmar
imports. junta leader Min Aung Hlaing asked for Chan-
Not only is Thailand liberalising its gas mar- ocha to “support democracy” in the immedi-
ket to encourage private imports of the fuel, but ate wake of the February coup, the Thai leader
the government has also touted the potential of assented.
the country becoming a regional LNG trading Both countries share a history of military gov-
hub in the future. ernance and their governments are more likely
This, then, would explain why PTT has to support the other for fear of casting doubt on
shown more interested of late in Myanmar’s their own legitimacy. In this light, it is hard to
downstream gas market, having reached an envision a situation where PTT can directly cut
agreement with the Myanmar government on ties – or even voice criticism of – Myanmar’s new
December 2020 on the development of a $2bn regime.™

The Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea.
Image: Total

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