Chevron to sell stake in Myanmar gas field to MTI

Chevron has agreed to sell its interest in Myanmar's (Burma) largest gas field Yadana to a subsidiary of Canadian oil firm MTI Energy, two years after a military coup in the country.

"Chevron has agreed to sell its 41.1pc interest in the Yadana project to Et Martem," Chevron said on 9 February. "The terms of the agreement are confidential."

Et Martem is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTI Energy. MTI has in the past competed for Angolan oil blocks, although not much else is known about the firm or its subsidiary.

Chevron's decision comes less than a year after TotalEnergies transferred its operatorship in the Yadana field to Thai state-controlled upstream firm PTTEP.

The agreement with Et Martem has prompted activist group Justice for Myanmar to reiterate its call for Canadian and UK sanctions on state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (Moge), which has a 15pc stake in Yadana.

The field supplies around half of the power generation needs of Myanmar's commercial capital Yangon. It produces 770mn ft³/d (7.95bn m³/yr) of gas, of which around 70pc is exported to Thailand, where it is sold to PTTEP's parent company PTT, and 30pc goes to Moge for domestic use.

"Throughout this sale process we will continue to meet our commitments to protect our employees, manage an orderly and safe transition and support the humanitarian needs of vulnerable local communities," Chevron said.

By Reena Nathan