Malaysia's Petronas withdraws from Myanmar's Yetagun gas field

A logo of Petronas is seen at their office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 27, 2022. - Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR/YANGON, April 30 (Reuters): Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas on Friday (April 29) said it has withdrawn from Blocks M12, M13 and M14 located in the Yetagun gas field off Myanmar, the latest exit by a major energy company since last year's military coup.

International companies doing business in Myanmar have come under pressure from rights groups and Myanmar's shadow civilian government to review their operations and stop payments flowing to a military government that seized power from an elected government and has brutally cracked down on dissent.

Petronas' move follows Japan's Mitsubishi Corp, which indirectly held a minority stake in the Yetagun field and in February said it was divesting its stake.

Petronas in its statement did not mention the turmoil in Myanmar as a reason for the withdrawal and said instead "the decision was made following a thorough techno-commercial review."

Petronas subsidiary PC Myanmar (Hong Kong) Ltd, which had operated the Yetagun project since 2003, held a 40.9% stake. Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise owns 20.5%.

A Japanese consortium, led by the Japanese government and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, a unit of oil refinery Eneos Holdings, has a 19.3% stake while the remainder is owned by PTTEP International Ltd.

Eneos in March said it aims to withdraw from the project in response to "social issues", amid criticism that the project is funding Myanmar's military junta. - Reuters