Myanmar Aims to Sell Gas to China – Minister
Reuters / April 26, 2007

Myanmar is looking to export gas from two blocks in which Indian firms have stakes to Asian rival China, but even without the supplies India hopes to have a gas surplus by 2012, a government minister said.

Despite the country's political isolation and Western sanctions, Myanmar's offshore natural gas fields have become a hotly contested commodity as neighbours seek stable, secure sources of cleaner fuel for their fast-growing economies.

"In a meeting at Nay Pyi Taw on March 16, Myanmar government informed the stakeholders of its A1 & A3 that they are considering export of gas discovered in these blocks to China through an on-land pipeline," Minister of State for Oil Dinsha Patel told lawmakers on Thursday. Nay Pyi Taw is the new capital of Myanmar.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. owns 20 percent of each block, while gas transmission company GAIL (India) Ltd. has 10 percent of the two assets.

The Myanmar regime has sent mixed signals about its gas plans before. It signed energy cooperation pacts with both China and India last year, although it promised them nothing. India along with China, South Korea, Japan and Thailand have all bid for gas from the two fields that have estimated combined proven reserves of 5.7-10.0 trillion cubic feet (tcf), with up to 8.6 tcf of recoverable reserves.

South Korea's Daewoo International Corp. operates the two blocks with a 60 percent stake, and Korea Gas Corp. owns the remaining 10 percent.

But Patel said GAIL was still hoping to land gas from the fields at the two countries' border and was talking to officials in Myanmar. India believes it can offer a more attractive deal than Beijing. He gave no indication of the prices on offer.

The government estimates demand for gas by 2012 at 279.43 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd), the minister said, while it hopes by then to have tied up supplies of 285.42 mscmd.

"Availability of gas through transnational gas pipelines, including Myanmar-India gas pipeline, has not been taken into account," Patel said.