Myanmar plans to boost oil output to avoid costly imports
Cash-strapped Myanmar will increase its total oil production by 67 % this year in order to cut down on costly petrol
and diesel imports, a report said. State energy officials were quoted as saying the military-run country would be
insulated from the effects of surging global oil prices as supply would be boosted from 12,000 bpd to 20,000 by year
end to meet growing domestic demand.
"We are upgrading the refinery in Than Lyin (near the capital Yangon) to produce 12,000 bpd of crude oil," the report
said. "We are scheduled to produce more diesel and petrol," Soe Myint, the energy ministry's head of the department
of energy planning.
Myanmar's domestic demand has reportedly tripled in the past decade, while production currently stands at 109 mm
gallons per year, according to energy ministry figures.
"In the financial year 2004-2005, we are scheduled to import $ 250 mm of fuel from abroad, mainly through contracts
with Petronas Oil Company of Malaysia," Soe Myint said. Most would be diesel, with half bought in cash and the other
half through agricultural barter, he added.
Global oil prices have skyrocketed this year and nipped at $ 50 per barrel in August amid surging demand in countries
like China, and threats of production stoppages in Russia and the Middle East.
The Myanmar government reportedly plans to reduce reliance on imported fuel by converting 2,000 buses and trucks in
Yangon to run on natural gas. Gas production capacity averages around 1 bn cfpd in Myanmar, according to French oil
group Total which has invested in the country.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has signed dozens of oil and gas exploration and production contracts with foreign firms.
