Petronas interested in Texaco's Myanmar stake<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian national oil firm Petronas is
\nstudying the purchase of Texaco Inc's 42.9 percent stake in
\nMyanmar's Yetagun gas field, president and chief executive Hassan
\nMarican said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Texaco is the largest shareholder and operator of the field,
\nwhich has estimated gas reserves of one trillion cubic feet and
\nlies 125 miles off Myanmar's western coast in the Indian Ocean.
\nIt is being commercially evaluated.<\/p>\n
Marican said Texaco had appointed an investment banker to look
\nfor buyers of the U.S. oil giant's stake.<\/p>\n
"We have been approached by the investment banker. Yes, we are
\nlooking and studying the opportunity," he told reporters on the
\nsidelines of an industry conference in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Texaco has said it might sell the stake.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the United States imposed sanctions to
\nprotest what it called political repression by the ruling
\nmilitary junta, banning fresh investment in Myanmar by U.S.
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
U.S. firms have been under pressure to withdraw from Myanmar
\nby human rights activists. High profile names which have pulled
\nout of Myanmar include U.S. soft drinks giant PepsiCo Inc.
\nBut oil companies have also faced particular pressure because
\nthey tend to be the biggest investors in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Unocal Corp has a 47.5 percent stake in the US$1.2 billion
\nYadana field, which plans to pipe gas to Myanmar and Thailand.<\/p>\n
Texaco's Yetagun field is due to come on stream in 1999 and
\nthe consortium has already signed a 30-year deal to sell 200
\nmillion cubic feet per day of gas to Thailand.<\/p>\n
At Texaco's annual shareholder meeting in May, the company
\nsaid it might sell the Yetagun stake, citing financial rather
\nthan human rights concerns.<\/p>\n
Later the same month, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign
\nAssets Control (OFAC) said existing contracts entered into by
\nU.S. companies in Myanmar could proceed.<\/p>\n
There are around 20 U.S.-based companies with direct
\ninvestment or employees in Myanmar. The largest are Unocal,
\nTexaco and Atlantic Richfield Co, the Washington-based Investor
\nResponsibility Research Center said in May.<\/p>\n
Oil companies have generally argued that unilateral sanctions
\nhave not worked in the past and the best way to promote change is
\nthrough investment.<\/p>\n
The U.S. efforts to raise human rights to the top of the Asian
\nagenda received a severe blow earlier this month when the
\nAssociation of South East Nations (ASEAN) decided to accept
\nMyanmar, Cambodia and Laos as full members.<\/p>\n
They are scheduled to join Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as members of the
\ngrouping at a summit in Kuala Lumpur next month.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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