Petronas in talks for Texaxo's Myanmar stake
Petronas in talks for Texaxo's Myanmar stake
KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Malaysia's state oil firm, Petronas, is holding talks with U.S.-based Texaco on the possibility of buying its stake in Myanmar's Yetagun gas field, a company official said yesterday.
The official, who did not want to be named, confirmed a Thai newspaper report yesterday that the oil firm's exploration arm, Petronas Carigali, is in negotiations with Texaco.
However, he said, the negotiations are still at an early stage and Petronas has yet to decide whether it will buy up Texaco's full 40 percent share in Yetagun, or part of it.
The Thai newspaper, the Nation, quoted industry sources as saying that Texaco has opened talks with several oil and gas firms to sell off its 40 per cent stake in Yetagun, following Washington's decision to impose sanctions on new U.S. investments in military-ruled Burma.
Although the sanctions will apply only to new investments and not to existing projects like the Yetagun field, Texaco has been talking with Petronas as well as Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina and Thai energy and mining group Ban Pu Plc.
Texaco chief executive Peter Bijur was reported earlier as saying at the company's annual shareholders meeting that it would consider selling its Yetagun holding.
The Nation said Petronas has emerged as a strong contender because it has offered to swap its stake in a Malaysian field for the Yetagun share.
It quoted a source as saying that Petronas is keen on the Yetagun stake since it is trying to "build its empire in countries around Thailand, which is Southeast Asia's largest market for gas."
The newspaper said other partners in the Yetagun project are British firm Premier Oil, Japan's Nippon Oil and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Plc.
The Petronas official said if the talks are successful, it will be the state oil company's second venture in Burma. It relinquished its exploration rights to an onshore project in Myanmar several years ago, in a venture with Japan's Idemitsu Co, after tests showed the project was not viable.