PTTEP scrapping offshore Myanmar development?

Thai oil company PTTEP is reportedly looking to put a halt to its operations in Myanmar.

According to Sea Ship News, a news website covering Asian maritime sector, the oil giant, pressured by low oil prices has hinted it could scrap its M-3 gas project offshore Myanmar. The publication did not say where the information came from.

Late in December last year, PTTEP said the company’s total expenditure in 2015 would be around $4.8 billion.

It said that Southeast Asia would account for 20% of PTTEP’s estimated total expenditures in 2015, with the major activities in this region being mostly  Myanmar assets which include maintaining the production level of the Zawtika Project, development activities for the Myanmar M3 Project, and exploration activities for the Myanmar PSC G & EP 2 Project, the Myanmar MOGE3 Project, and the Myanmar MD-7 and MD-8 Project.

PTTEP did say, in its latest quarterly report, that the company would adjust the investment strategies for its projects under the development phase, to align with current global oil prices.

PTTEP, based in Bangkok, Thailand, signed the production sharing contract for the M3 offshore block in Myanmar back in 2004. It is operating the block with an 80% interest, with Japan’s Mitsui Oil Exploration Company Limited (MOECO) holding the remaining 20%.

Offshore Energy Today did not manage to get a reply from PTTEP to an e-mail seeking comment at the time of the writing of this article.

Update: January 28, 2015 9.00 a.m. CET

PTTEP has sent a response to Offshore Energy Today saying that “PTTEP‘s Myanmar M-3 project is under appraisal program and will take a few years before final investment decision (FID) can be made…During this time we will closely monitor crude price movement.”

“The current status of Myanmar M-3 project is to continue appraisal program. Additional 6 appraisal wells began drilling in Q3 of 2014,” a PTTEP spokesperson said in a statement.

Offshore Energy Today Staff