Myanmar is seeking investors to help build a new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal and supply chain business for the distribution and marketing of the cooking and heating fuel, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The country’s state-owned Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise (MPE) last week issued an invitation for expressions of interest for a joint venture project between the company and interested investors, including local and foreign companies.
The proposal is for the construction of a new LPG terminal, which could include storage tanks and a jetty, next to its 20,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) No.1 Thanlyin refinery near Yangon.
The joint venture would also involve establishing an LPG supply chain to import, store, market and distribute the fuel.
MPE issued a separate tender for a laboratory services joint venture to analyse the specifications and qualities of petroleum and petrochemical products.
The deadline for companies to submit their proposals for the tenders is July 15, according to the documents.
Last year, MPE requested that foreign investors send in applications to jointly operate its LPG plant at Nyaung Don.
Results of that tender are not known.
LPG is used as a cooking and heating fuel in homes and restaurants in Myanmar, as well as in the industrial sector.
Myanmar is rich in natural gas but does not have enough facilities to compress it into liquid form and has to rely on imports. It has three LPG plants.
With a rising middle class, demand for the cleaner LPG fuel is expected to grow and replace traditional fuels for cooking. (Reuters)
