A move by PTT Exploration and Production Pcl (PTTEP) to become operator of Yadana field, in which it already has a 25.5% stake, would keep vital gas supplies flowing to Thailand and Myanmar, and could safeguard revenues for Myanmar’s government amid tighter U.S. and other sanctions.
France’s TotalEnergies and U.S. firm Chevron said on Friday they were leaving, citing the worsening humanitarian situation following the coup.
The French and U.S. firms were part of a group operating the Yadana gas project off Myanmar’s southwest coast and the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC) that runs a pipeline carrying gas from the field to Myanmar’s border with Thailand.
“PTTEP appears the more likely candidate to take over as operator of Yadana,” said Kittithat Promthaveepong, Bangkok-based consultant at the Lantau Group.
PTTEP would…
