Myanmar ranks 41 in natural gas reserves
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Myanmar ranks 41 internationally in volume of natural gas reserves, according to a research paper by the Myanmar Development Resource Institute and the Asia Foundation.
The paper quoted a report on energy sector from the Asian Development Bank that says the country has about 20 trillion cubic feet of untapped natural gas reserves.
The report “National Resources and Subnational Governments in Myanmar: key considerations for growth” was presented at the IBC hall in Yangon on June 17.
It notes that the government fails to collect the amount of revenue it could from the sale of its natural resources. “Myanmar does not collect the amount of revenues that it could, given the wealth of resources present and the scale of their use,” the report says.
“Simply increasing natural resource extraction does not help the country unless revenues are collected and used well to prepare for the day when resources run out,” the report says.
Myanmar was also ranked 78th in terms of oil reserves, as it possesses about 160 million barrels, according to the paper. It added that Myanmar has planned to develop a total of 104 plots – 53 onshore and 51 offshore – while energy companies, including some foreign firms, are exploring at 17 onshore plots and 20 offshore plots.
Natural gas is one of the major sources of foreign income for Myanmar. It earned US$3.6 billion from gas export during the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Major gas exploration projects include Yadana, Yetagun, Zawtika and Shwe gas projects. There are also some 65 gas exploration projects onshore. Gas from the Shwe project is being exported mainly to China, while the Yetagun project exports gas to Thailand.
Natural gas exports to Thailand, which began in 1999, now account for roughly 70 per cent of natural gas output. PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) launched commercial operations of the Zawtika gas project in 2014, which is expected to produce 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) and increase natural gas exports to Thailand. Thailand announced it plans to invest an additional $3.3 billion in the country’s oil and natural gas development by 2020. Meanwhile, exports to China commenced in 2013 with the development of the Shwe natural gas project in the Rakhine Basin, which could have a peak production capacity of 500 mmcf/d.
