03-05-09 A Southeast Asia energy official has hinted that gas production in some of Burma's offshore fields may be declining. The suggestion was made when Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro disclosed that the Thailand state oil and gas firm PTT is negotiating to buy large volumes of gas from the still-to-be developed Natuna-D field in Indonesian waters.
"The gas supply [from Burma] now seems to be declining, so the company is looking for gas from other sources," said Purnomo.

PTT is Burma's biggest purchaser of natural gas, drawn from the Yadana and Yetagun fields in the Andaman Sea. The Thai company's overseas subsidiary PTTEP is also currently developing another big field in those waters.
PTTEP has said its exploratory drills so far in the M-9 block in the Gulf of Martaban indicate gas reserves of more than 50 bn cm. PTT has previously indicated an interest in co-developing the Natuna-D field with Indonesia's state firm Pertamina.