Chevron exits Yadana gas project off Myanmar, redistributes interest

Chevron Group subsidiary Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co. Ltd. (UMOC) has officially completed its withdrawal from the Yadana natural gas project off Myanmar’s southwestern coast.

All withdrawal processes were subsequently fulfilled on Apr. 5, 2024, according to a letter from Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Co. Ltd. (PTTEP) to the Thailand stock exchange. The withdrawal was effective Apr. 1, 2024. 

TotalEnergies and Chevron had both noted plans to exit the natural gas joint venture on concerns of worsening human rights conditions (OGJ Online, Jan. 21, 2022; Mar 14, 2022). PTTEP tookover as operator of the Yadana gas project (Blocks M5 and M6) in 2022 upon closure of TotalEnergies' withdrawal. 

Chevron in February 2023 said it intended to sell its stake in Yadana; however, Chevron's 41.1% stake in the field was instead redistributed to the remaining shareholders, PTTEP and state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

PTTEP’s interest in the project has increased to 62.9630%, according to the Apr. 5 letter. 

Yadana, which first began producing natural gas in 1998, lies in the Gulf of Moattama, Myanmar. Statistics from early 2022 indicate Yadana field produces around 6 billion cu m/yr, of which about 70% is exported to Thailand.

Much of the transport occurs through the Moattama Gas Transportation Co. to the Myanmar-Thailand border for delivery to Thailand power plants, while the remaining volumes are dedicated to the Myanmar market, according to a cached Chevron website of Myanmar operations as of Mar. 31, 2024. The imported gas from Myanmar, of which Yadana is the main supply, accounts for about 14% of Thailand's gas demand, the now-removed website said.