Petronas’ Myanmar unit declares force majeure on Yetagun gas production

Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) subsidiary, PC Myanmar (Hong Kong) Ltd, has declared force majeure on its Yetagun gas production field in the Andaman Sea, offshore Myanmar.

The national oil company said that it made the April 1 declaration due to the depletion of gas production in Blocks M12, M13 and M14.

PC Myanmar has ceased production at the Yetagun field temporarily, following challenges in the wells deliverability that resulted in the production rate dropping below the technical threshold of the offshore gas processing plant.

PC Myanmar country head Liau Min Hoe said the Yetagun field was producing below the technical turndown rate of its facilities before the cessation of production.

He said there had been a drastic decline in production level due to subsurface challenges in the field since January, and it had deteriorated further recently.

“Continuing to produce at a low rate would impose significant risks to the integrity of our assets and the safety of our people.

“As a responsible operator, we had to cease production temporarily and declare force majeure. We have put in place an intervention plan to mitigate the matter and have informed the host authority, our partners and gas buyer of the decision,” he said on Friday.

PC Myanmar has been the operator of the Yetagun Gas Project since 2003. It holds a 40.9 per cent stake with its affiliates — Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (20.5 per cent), Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar) Ltd (19.3 per cent) and PTTEP International Ltd (19.3 per cent).

Continuing to produce at a low rate would impose significant risks to the integrity of our assets and the safety of our people.

LIAU MIN HOE

PC Myanmar (Hong Kong) Ltd country head