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 MYANMAR
Southeast Asia
Myanmar (formerly Burma) was one of the first
countries ever to produce oil (if not the first) from hand-dug wells
hundreds of years ago. Production over a few barrels per day began in
1889 and has been erratic through the years declining to almost nothing
for a period after World War 2.
 Following
post war growth it reached a peak in 1979 but has been declining ever
since. Conversely small amounts of onshore gas have been used locally
for many years and usage of onshore gas is increasing modestly.
Since WW2 up to 1989 the Burmese government carried out
all exploration and development. The state, represented by the Myanma
Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), invited foreign companies to explore in
the late 1980s but they did not stem the oil production decline as the
fore-arc geology of Myanmar’s onshore basins is not conducive to good
quality reservoir development, even though there exist prolific oil
source rocks.
 However, major discoveries of dry gas offshore by Total
in the northwest and Texaco in the southeast of the Gulf of Martaban
have greatly increased gas output. Offshore the Irrawaddy River drains
into the Gulf of Martaban. The Irrawaddy fan, like the Bengal and Indus
fans to the west, comprises sediments derived from the Himalayas and
forms a broad offshore shelf over which waters are generally less than
200 m.
Total began production of gas from its 160 Bcm Yadana
field in 1998 delivering by pipeline to the Petroleum Authority of
Thailand (PTT). It is a simple field with a homogeneous carbonate
reservoir with a single gas water contact. There are two satellites,
Sein is a smaller version of Yadana and Badymyr has a reservoir of
shallow sands draping the main structure. The field has 14 wells on two
wellhead platforms and has a contracted production rate of around 5.5
Bcm per year.
The 90 Bcm Yetagun gas field, operated by Petronas
Carigali of Malaysia (formerly by Premier Oil) came onstream in mid 2000
with gas also sold to PTT for delivery to Thailand’s 3200 MW Ratchaburi
Power Plant. Yetagun has a contracted rate of around 4.1 Bcm per year.
Again it is a simple field with gas in sandstone reservoirs separated
into well-defined fault blocks.
Other discoveries including the Shwe field are also under
appraisal so considerable growth in gas output is forecast.
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