Public support grows for gas sanctions targeting Myanmar's military

 

Activists are looking to place gas revenues in an offshore bank account that the military can’t touch as nearly 50 percent of Myanmar’s foreign currency comes from natural gas revenues.

Myanmar's state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise is expected to earn $1.5 billion from offshore and pipeline projects in 2021-2022. (AP)

As military abuses such as the murder and detention of thousands have grown, public support has swelled in Myanmar for targeted sanctions on oil and gas funds, the country’s single largest source of foreign currency revenue.

A young woman in Myanmar decided to speak out when she realised that money from the company she loved was now in the hands of the military leaders she hated.

She worked for Total Energies, the French company that operates a gas field off Myanmar’s coast with a state-owned enterprise. 

But in February, the military took over Myanmar’s government and its bank accounts, including those that receive hundreds of millions of dollars each year from the Yadana gas field.

The young woman has since lost her job. And later, after protesting the military's takeover of her country, she was thrown into prison for three weeks.

Lagging support from gas giants

“I feel very disappointed in Total because they are neglecting this country in which they invested,” says the young woman, whose name is being withheld by The Associated Press to protect her from retaliation by the military.

Total and energy giant Chevron, which also is a partner in Yadana, say they are trying to protect their employees in Myanmar, and also to keep crucial gas supplies flowing to the people of Myanmar and Thailand.

The United Nations’ top expert on human rights in Myanmar says millions of people across the country are imposing personal sanctions by withholding taxes, refusing to pay power bills and boycotting products linked to the military. 

And on November 30, hundreds of human rights organisations in Myanmar joined their international colleagues in signing a letter asking Total’s CEO to stop payments to military-controlled accounts.

The AP also obtained a copy of a letter from workers at Yadana to their managers calling on Total’s subsidiary, Total E&P Myanmar, to suspend export payments to the military and place the funds in a protected account.

Activists are looking not to shut down the gas field, but to place revenues in an offshore bank account that the military can’t touch. 

The sanctions would target the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which is a joint venture partner in all offshore gas projects in Myanmar, including Yadana with Total, Chevron, and Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production. 

Total has a majority stake in the venture and runs its daily operations, while MOGE collects revenues on behalf of the government.

About 50 percent of Myanmar’s foreign currency comes from natural gas revenues, with MOGE expected to earn $1.5 billion from offshore and pipeline projects in 2021-2022, according to a Myanmar government forecast. 

The Yadana gas project and pipeline earned around $400 million in revenues in 2017-2018.

 

 

Western reticence

Yet neither US President Joe Biden nor French President Emmanuel Macron have publicly moved against Myanmar’s oil and gas revenues.

In response to questions from the AP, the US State Department pointed to a list of other people and entities the US has already sanctioned, including military officials and a state-owned gems enterprise.

“We will not hesitate to take further action against those who perpetrate violence and suppress the will of the people,” the department said in a statement.

On Wednesday, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was looking at what additional steps to take against Myanmar's junta and on Friday, the US announced a raft of sanctions against several Myanmar officials and entities, but again left out oil or gas revenues.

Source: AP 

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(With input from news agency language)

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