TotalEnergies has officially withdrawn from operations in Myanmar.
In January, the company noted its decision to withdraw from Yadana field and from gas transportation company MGTC in Myanmar, both as shareholder and as operator (OGJ Online, Jan. 21, 2022).
“In a context of continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in Myanmar, this decision resulted from the assessment that TotalEnergies was no longer able to make a sufficiently positive contribution in the country, and was not able to meet the expectations of stakeholders who were asking to stop the revenues going to the Burmese state through the state-owned company MOGE from Yadana field production,” TotalEnergies said in a release July 20.
In accordance with the contractual 6-month notice period, the withdrawal—made in compliance with European sanctions put in place in February—became effective July 20.
Since January 2022, TotalEnergies acted as a responsible operator and has undertaken due diligence to ensure its withdrawal in a responsible manner, the company said. It worked with PTTEP, Thailand's national company, which was appointed as the new operator by the project partners, on continuity and safety of production at Yadana gas field while ensuring an orderly transfer of operations, the company continued (OGJ Online, Mar. 14, 2022).
All TotalEnergies employees in Myanmar were offered employment with PTTEP, the company said, and a complementary support agreement, through a contribution to a dedicated fund, was established between the two companies to continue the economic development program with local communities in the MGTC pipeline area.