Petronas ceases gas production in offshore Myanmar

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

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

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

PCML country head Liau Min Hoe said Yetagun field was producing below the technical turndown rate of its facilities prior to the cessation of production.

He said there has been a drastic decline in production level due to subsurface challenges in the field since January 2021 and it has further deteriorated 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 temporarily cease production 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 our decision,” he said in a statement recently.

PCML has been the operator of the Yetagun Gas Project since 2003, holding a 40.9 per cent stake together with its affiliates namely 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).

PCML said it remains committed to its project in Yetagun and would take all necessary measures to resume production as soon as possible.

Source: NST