Mizzima-Oct 29
The Myanmar junta-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) will partner with Thailand’s state-owned energy company PTTEP International to explore and drill new offshore natural gas blocks in the Mottama Gulf, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM). The two sides are expected to sign agreements with the Myanmar junta’s Ministry of Energy to begin operations on Blocks M-5 and M-6 on November 1, continuing through March 2027. Navigation warnings have been issued for vessels within a four-kilometer radius of the sites. PTTEP will also install four new platforms and connect underwater pipelines at the nearby M-9 block, where production has continued despite international sanctions. The company and MOGE are already collaborating in the Yadana and Zawtika gas projects, key sources of natural-gas exports to Thailand. While the junta-run GNLM described the partnership as a step to expand “mutually beneficial” energy development, rights groups have warned that revenues from the junta-controlled MOGE are a major source of hard currency for the military. According to a November 2023 briefing by Human Rights Watch, Myanmar’s gas projects generate over US$1 billion annually, making them “the single largest source of foreign revenue” for the junta. Since the February 2021 coup, those funds have helped underwrite the military’s campaigns which have been marked by frequent reports of human rights abuses. EarthRights International estimated in 2023 that about US$3 billion has flowed to the junta through MOGE accounts since the coup, largely from foreign-operated offshore fields. Analysts note that with the exit of Western firms, PTTEP’s growing role in Myanmar’s offshore sector highlights the ongoing challenge of cutting off the junta’s lucrative energy lifeline even as sanctions tighten. Read more at: https://eng.mizzima.com/2025/10/28/27673
