Page 5 - AsianOil Week 04 2022

AsianOil COMMENTARY AsianOil

state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise According to TotalEnergies’ statement, in
(MOGE), which owns a 15% stake in the field. the event of withdrawal, the French company’s
Indeed, Total – as it was then known – and interests would be shared between the current
Chevron suspended some payments from partners unless they object to such allocation.
the project that would have reached the junta The role of operator would be taken over by one
last year. However, TotalEnergies noted in last of the partners. The TotalEnergies spokesperson
week’s statement that stopping revenues from cited by Reuters said PTT would be a “natural”
the field going to the Burmese state was “mate- choice to take over the company’s Myanmar
rially impossible” for the company. This was assets and that TotalEnergies was already in
attributed to the fact that most of the payments contact with the Thai company to discuss such
are made directly by Thailand’s PTT, the buyer a move. PTTEP told the news service that it was
of the exported proportion of Yadana’s gas. “carefully considering” how to proceed.
Chevron, for its part, is working on a “planned As of January 26, analysts also said that PTT
and orderly” transition to exiting Myanmar, looked set to take over TotalEnergies’ inter-
according to a company spokesperson. No fur- ests in Yadana and MGTC. If it does, the move
ther details have been disclosed by the US-based could help keep gas flowing to both Thailand
super-major. and Myanmar. It could also be seen favourably Oil and gas
by Myanmar’s government if it helps safeguard
What next? its revenues in the face of tougher international revenue is
TotalEnergies did not disclose the financial sanctions. If PTT takes over both TotalEnergies’ reported to be
impact of its exit from Yadana, but a spokes- and Chevron’s stakes in the project, its holdings
person told Reuters that Myanmar represents a in Yadana and MGTC will amount to 85%. the single largest
minor part of its revenue. “PTTEP appears the more likely candidate
“Financial considerations have never been to take over as operator of Yadana,” a Lantau source of income
crucial in this matter. Our operations in Myan- Group consultant, Kittithat Promthaveepong,
mar amounted to $105mn in 2021, equivalent was quoted by Reuters as saying in a separate for Myanmar’s
to less than 1% of the company’s income,” the report on January 26. miliary leaders.
spokesperson said. Oil and gas revenue is reported to be the single
The company operates the field with a 31.24% largest source of income for Myanmar’s miliary
interest, while Chevron holds 28.26%, PTT unit leaders, with MOGE expected to earn $1.5bn
PTTEP owns 25.5% and MOGE has the remain- from offshore and pipeline projects in 2021-22,
ing 15%. The partners own stakes of the same according to a government forecast. To date, tar-
size in the MGTC system. geted sanctions have not hit the country’s oil and
TotalEnergies said it had now initiated the gas operations, but if they do, this would likely
contractual process of withdrawing from cause more international operators to leave the
Yadana, with the exit set to become effective at country. However, PTTEP – which has more
the expiry of a six-month contractual period at historical ties, a shared border and gas imports
the latest. from Myanmar – would likely remain.™

Week 04 28•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P5