American oil giant Chevron Corp announced that its subsidiary, Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co Ltd, has entered into a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with state-run Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to explore for oil and gas in the Rakhine Basin.
The new PSC area, Block A5, lies 125 miles (200 kilometers) offshore northwest of Yangon, and covers more than 2.6 million acres (10,600 square kilometres).
Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co Ltd will be the operator of the block with a 99 percent interest. Royal Marine Engineering Co Ltd (RME), a local company, will hold the remaining interest in the block.
“Chevron is committed to exploring Myanmar’s energy potential,” said Brad Middleton, managing director, Chevron Asia South Business Unit.
“The exploration of this block is aligned with Chevron’s long-term strategy to find and develop resources that will help meet the growing energy needs in the Asia Pacific region.”
Scott Neal, president of Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co Ltd, said, “We are pleased to have reached this milestone.
“This agreement expands our partnership with MOGE and Myanmar. We have a 20-year history in Myanmar and we look forward to supporting the continued development of the nation’s energy sector through our exploration program.”
In addition to Block A5, Chevron has a 28.3 percent non-operated interest in a PSC for the production of natural gas from the Yadana and Sein fields, within Blocks M5 and M6, in the Andaman Sea.
The company also has a 28.3 percent non-operated interest in a pipeline company that transports most of the natural gas to the Myanmar-Thailand boarder for delivery to power plants in Thailand. The remaining volumes are dedicated to the Myanmar market.
