New onshore block tender coming: sources

http://mmtimes.com/2012/business/616/biz61609.html

Volume 31, No. 616
February 27 - March 4, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR – Myanmar will launch a second global tender for six onshore oil and gas blocks as the reforming Southeast Asian country seeks to tap more foreign investment, two sources with direct knowledge of the deals told Reuters.

The latest tender will be issued in late February or early March, according to the Myanmar-based sources. It comes hot on the heels of Myanmar’s largest oil and gas offering in August 2011 that saw 10 out of 18 onshore blocks snapped up, mostly by Asian firms.

Myanmar has been speeding up democratic reforms ahead of April 1 by-elections that are seen as key to the European Union and other Western nations unwinding more sanctions against the nation.

Under the new tender, Myanmar will offer two fields under production-sharing contracts while the rest will be awarded under marginal field development and improved petroleum recovery contracts, one of the sources said.

“The new tender will come soon after the winners of the earlier tender sign their deals in February,” said the second source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

“Myanmar is expecting interest from Asian countries. And there may be more interest from Western countries this time,” the source added.

An Energy Ministry spokesman confirmed the country would be issuing an international tender for the onshore blocks “very soon” but declined to give further details. – Reuters

GeoMyanmar spruiks Myanmar’s mineral riches

http://mmtimes.com/2012/business/618/biz61801.html

By Juliet Shwe Gaung
Volume 31, No. 618
March 12 - 18, 2012

YANGON’S Sedona Hotel hosted an international geology conference on March 1 and 2 that brought together more than 250 participants from around the globe.

GeoMyanmar 2012 was organised by Myanmar Geosciences Society, with assistance from the Myanmar Engineering Society and geological research groups in Singapore and Australia.

It discussed the regional and national geology, stratigraphy and the tectonics, along with how the petroleum and mineral resources found within Myanmar’s boundaries can be exploited.

The conference featured keynote addresses from Dr AHG Mitchell and Dr Khin Zaw, both of whom have contributed greatly to Myanmar and regional geological study in the past two decades.

In his opening address, chairman of Myanmar Geosciences Society Dr Win Swe welcomed the 50 international geologists and Myanmar geoscientists working abroad and looked to encourage greater future participation in the field.

“The principal objectives [of this conference] are to promote the progress of geosciences in Myanmar, to encourage wider, more effective and systematic arbitration of geosciences and to develop strategies to reduce the impact of natural and man-made hazards,” he said.

He said Myanmar is endowed with rich mineral resources but is also prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. He said these risks, coupled with the riches under the ground and a growing population, meant geoscience would have a large role to play in the safeguarding and developing the country.

“All buildings should be built according to the necessary geoscience and engineering principles and proper regulations,” said Dr Win Swe.

“Myanmar is an exciting place to conduct research or to undertake mineral exploration or to identify natural hazard potential.”

Dr Khin Zaw, who has a PhD in economic geology from the University of Tasmania in Australia, said Myanmar had to ensure its environment was preserved as companies exploited its natural resources.

“Don’t let them make a hole and leave you to fill it in. You must have special funding for environmental conservation. In countries such as Thailand, they build golf courses and resorts after the mining work is finished.” he said.

In 2011 Myanmar held a bidding process for 18 onshore oil and gas blocks that saw nine blocks auctioned to seven companies. An official close to the Ministry of Energy said another six onshore blocks were being prepared for joint ventures between Russian and domestic firms.

“Russian companies, as well as the embassy officials, often come and meet the Ministry of Energy. Russia is really interested in working with our country not only in oil and gas but also in hydropower, mining and other fields,” the person said.

U Aung Kyaw Htoo, assistant director of the ministry’s Energy Planning Department, said that 10 onshore blocks and 26 offshore blocks were being explored. He said some of the 34 unexplored onshore blocks would be put up for auction soon, adding that there are also 26 offshore (including seven in shallow water – less than 60 metres or 200 feet in depth) available to potential investors.

The conference was also attended by some companies that are preparing to invest in Myanmar.

PetroVietnam, which is exploring the M-2 block in the Gulf of Mottama, recently held talks with the Ministry of Energy to explore a deepwater block off the coast of Tanintharyi Region and was also interested in some onshore blocks, said an energy consultant who attended the conference.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Energy said Japan was showing great interest in investing in Myanmar’s oil and gas industry.

Mr Toshihiko Hayashi, director general and chief geologist of Metals Exploration Department under Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (Jogmec) who participated the conference, said Myanmar represented a good opportunity.

He said Jogmec and the Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration (DGSE) under the Ministry of Mining signed an agreement to commence a regional exploration survey in January, which had already been partially undertaken.

He said a survey team had toured Shan State in February and discovered an antimony deposit.

“We are going to do more [surveys] in other locations around the country looking for different minerals. We are talking with DGSE for our next survey plan,” he said.

After the survey is complete Jogmec would give the results to Japanese companies and help them to make agreements to extract the deposits.

Mr Yoshikazu Yaguchi, project director of Jogmec’s Overseas Exploration Division, under the Oil and Gas Upstream Technology Unit, said he would soon bring 10 companies to Myanmar to meet ministry officials and talk about offshore blocks.

“We are interested in several offshore deepwater blocks,” he said.

MPRL begins drilling A-6 exploration well

http://mmtimes.com/2012/business/618/biz61803.html

By Juliet Shwe Gaung
Volume 31, No. 618
March 12 - 18, 2012

MPRL E&P began drilling its Pyi Thar-1 exploration well at block A-6 off the Rakhine offshore on March 3, the company said in a press release.

The exploration is a joint venture between the company and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, under the Ministry of Energy.

U Than Htay, the Minister for Energy, U Thein Aung, Chief Region for Ayeyarwady Region, and U Moe Myint, chief executive officer of MPRL E&P, as well as other officials attended the ceremony.

Pyi Thar-1 exploration well will be drilled vertically down to a depth of 4585 feet and then sidetrack by 5094 feet.

The drilling process is expected to take about 35 days, the March 5 press release said.

Revenue form exportation of natural gas from Burma is up from 2.920 Billion Dollars in the Budget Year of 2009-2010 to 3.563 billion Dollars - Yadana and Yetagun are the main sources of Natural Gas exportation while Shwe and Sawtika will be productive enough for exportation in 2013.


There are 104 Investment Projects on Oil and Natural Gas which account for the investment of 13.815 Billion Dollars - from the late Nov 2011 which account to 34.18% of total investments - seconded ONLY Hydroelectic power investments.

Ministry of Energy just approved 7 State Enterprises to make a joint venture with oil firm from Indonesia, Thailand, France, Malaysia, Russia, China and India on 9 out of 18 Sources -

Now foreign investors has participated in the oil and gas exploration - 49 in land sources and 26 offshore sources including those in Mon state, Tennisarim, and Arakan .... since 1988.

Burma also has crude oil reservation at 3.2 Billion barrels.
http://manager.co.th/IndoChina/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9550000051288

I just got the latest news that the Government at Nepyitaw has approved the new concession with PTTEP on the natural gas exploration on 15000 sq. km around Nepyitaw along with the concession for EGAT to construct the new hydroelectric dams at Hatji and Maytong with the investment of 10.5 Billion Dollars to generate 7600 MW of electricity

Canadian mining firm eyes gold in central Myanmar

http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/business/2830-canadian-mining-firm-eyes-gold-in-central-myanmar

Canada-based Centurion Minerals Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar’s Eternal Gold Mining Company to explore and develop a gold project in Sagaing Region’s Ba Mauk area, it said in a press release.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with an experienced, successful local Myanmar mining group, in this prospective gold project," Centurian chairman Alfred Lenarciak said.

Centurion will act as operator and oversee the exploration activities and assessment of the resource potential of the 22,000 acre Ba Mauk gold project, the company said.

It said that the project area is located in the northern tip of a volcano-plutonic belt containing the highest concentration of gold mines and prospects in Myanmar.

Centurian has two gold exploration projects in Indonesia. Its stock trades on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Coal Miner Bukit Asam Invests $80m in Myanmar

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/coal-miner-bukit-asam-invests-80m-in-myanmar/581823

State-controlled coal miner Bukit Asam has set aside $80 million to expand its business into Myanmar, joining a string of firms jostling for a slice of the Southeast Asian nation’s burgeoning economy.

The company said last week it planned to build a mine-mouth coal-fired power plant in Myanmar, which will become the biggest of its kind in the country.

“This energy project has a capacity of 2x200 megawatts. There is already a research team that has done a study on it,” Bukit Asam’s corporate secretary Joko Pramono said on Friday.

The company is one of 15 Indonesian state-owned firms eyeing Myanmar for business expansion, according to Minister Dahlan Iskan.

Bukit Asam has been keen to grow its business overseas, as well as at home, in an effort to diversify revenue sources.

Its earnings declined slightly last year as global coal prices fell amid concerns of an economic slowdown in China.

The company’s net income shed 6 percent to Rp 2.9 trillion ($299 million) last year, down from Rp 3.09 trillion a year earlier. Revenue rose 10 percent to Rp 11.59 trillion, from Rp 10.58 trillion in 2011.

Bukit Asam sells 45 percent of the coal it produces to overseas buyers, including those in Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Based in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, the company has plans to develop infrastructure for its Indonesian coal mines.

In October 2012, Bukit Asam said that it had budgeted around $580 million over the next four years to build infrastructure facilities to support its core business.

It laid out plans to develop two mine-mouth coal-fired power plants in Sumatra with a combined capacity of 1,460 megawatts.

The company, 65 percent owned by the government, has also signed a memorandum of understanding with state electricity supplier PLN and a Malaysian utility firm to develop a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant, which will produce electricity for exporting to Malaysia.

Bukit Asam is not the only Indonesian state-owned company with a view to expanding into Myanmar. Others interested in the increasingly accessible country include tin producer Timah, telco Telekomunikasi Indonesia, cement source Semen Indonesia, fertilizer producer Pupuk Indonesia and PLN.

GMF AeroAsia, which maintains national carrier Garuda’s aircraft fleet and offers engineering and maintenance services to various airlines across the region, has revealed it has a deal with Myanmar Airlines in its sights.

Shares of Bukit Asam fell 2.17 percent to Rp 13,500 during Friday’s trading at the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

Investor Daily

Myanmar gas exports to hit new record of nearly $4 billion, official says (http://elevenmyanmar.com/business/2946-myanmar-gas-exports-to-hit-new-record-of-nearly-4-billion-official-says)
Eleven Myanmar
Thursday, 28 March 2013 10:17


Gas exports have already surpassed last year’s record of US$3.5 billion and are on track to total nearly $4 billion when the fiscal year ends at the end of this month, a commerce ministry official said.

He estimated that the total had exceeded $3.7 billion as of the middle of this month, basing his calculation on the total figure for the export of finished goods, which was $4.21 billion as of March 15. Natural gas is by far the top export in this category, he said, adding that other exports would account for $300 million to $500 million of this amount.
Gas exports will total nearly $4 billion this fiscal year, said the official who asked not to be named.
Gas exports have risen in value by about 75 percent since fiscal year 2006 when they totaled about $2 billion. In fiscal 2010 they totaled $2.5 billion and in the last fiscal year they reached $3.5 billion.
Next year is expected to see the value of gas exports surge again as the Shwe Gas project is expected to begin exporting in May and the Zawtika project by December.
Myanmar is poised to reap billions of dollars in annual revenue from the export of gas and other natural resources, but analysts warn the government need to keep their promise to make appropriate use of those funds in a transparent manner so that this resource windfall do not fuel corruption and instability.
Natural Gas Export Earnings (US Dollar Million)
Financial Year Amount
2006-2007 2039 .13
2007-2008 2520 .74
2008-2009 2384 .69
2009-2010 2926 .69
2010-2011 2522 .53
2011-2012 3502 .52
2012-2013 over 3700

Finished Goods Export Earning (US Dollar Million)
Financial Year Amount
2006-2007 2329 .46
2007-2008 2826 .07
2008-2009 2686 .18
2009-2010 3238 .9
2010-2011 2907 .95
2011-2012 4001 .22
2012-2013 over 4214

Myanmar invites bids for 30 offshore oil, gas blocks

Companies that win licences will operate on a production-sharing basis; foreign firms will be able to operate alone in the deep-sea blocks

A file photo of oil tanks at a site operated by China National Petroleum Coporation at an offshore block of Madae Island near the town of Kyauk Phyu of Rakhine State, western Myanmar. Photo: AFP

http://www.livemint.com/rf/Image-621x414/LiveMint/Period1/2013/04/12/Photos/myanmar--621x414.jpg

Yangon: Myanmar said it would open bidding in June for the exploration and development of 11 shallow and 19 deep-sea oil and gas blocks, in only the second bidding round since the easing of US sanctions against the gas-rich country.

“Interested parties are to submit their letters of interest to the director general at the Naypyitaw-based ministry of energy by June 14,” the ministry said in an announcement on its website and in official newspapers on Thursday.

Stiff competition is expected for the 30 offshore blocks. The bidding round would be the third opportunity for companies to enter the country’s oil and gas sector since 2011 and the second round since US sanctions were eased due to democratic reforms in the Southeast Asian nation.

Myanmar, a country of 60 million people, is rich in gas reserves, which government officials estimate at 11 trillion to 23 trillion cubic feet.

The announcement dated 11 April said “the potential bidders will be allowed to submit three proposals for any three offshore blocks (shallow water or deep water or both)”.

Companies that win licences will operate on a production-sharing basis. Those who win the 11 shallow blocks will have to work with at least one registered local partner, the ministry said.

Foreign companies will be able to operate alone in the deep-sea blocks, given that few local companies have any experience in the sector.

Onshore blocks
In January, the ministry invited bids for exploration licences for 18 onshore blocks. Foreign companies were required to have local partners, and as a result about 137 local entities rushed to register with the ministry.

Also on Thursday Myanmar announced the names of 59 companies that had pre-qualified for the 18 onshore blocks from countries including Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, Thailand, US firms Esso Exploration International and Osprey Petroleum Co, and one Chinese company.

Myanmar’s MPRL E&P Pte. was the only local company among the 59 that qualified.

“Since the potential bidders for these 18 blocks are required to enter mandatory joint-ventures with a registered Myanmar national company, they didn’t appeal to international giants such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Chevron Corp , ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp,” a senior energy ministry official said.

Myanmar exported gas worth $3.5 billion, mainly to neighbouring Thailand, in fiscal year April 2011 to March 2012, up from $2.52 billion in gas the year before.

According to Chinese state media, gas from off Rakhine State in western Myanmar should begin to flow through a pipeline to China in May. A parallel oil pipeline is expected to begin operations in 2014.

^^^
Thai translation this news can be seen here:
http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/home/detail/politics/world/20130411/499950/%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99.html