Originally known as The Burmah [Myanmar] Oil Company Ltd, Burmah [Myanmar] Castrol PLC is the oldest oil enterprise in the United Kingdom. It is best remembered for having survived in 1975 the most serious crash hitherto in the business history of the United Kingdom and for achieving what was termed by John Davis of Money Observer, November 1988, “one of the greatest corporate comebacks of all time”.

KUALA LUMPUR – Across Southeast Asia, benchmark crude oil prices near US$70 a barrel have triggered fresh exploration and development activity in countries ranging from Indonesia, an original Opec exporter that is now a net importer after years of declining output, to Cambodia, which has never produced oil but may have huge offshore reserves.

OIL and natural gas are an important part of your everyday life. Not only do they give us mobility, they heat and cool our homes and provide electricity. Millions of products are made from oil and gas, including plastics, life-saving medications, clothing, cosmetics, and many other items you may use daily.

A-1 and A-3 offshore gas fields
Operated by Daewoo, ONGC, GAIL and KOGAS.
Location: Offshore Rakhine State.
Size: The A-1 block is 3885-square-kilometres and the A-3 block is 6780-square-kilometres.
Reserves: Combined gas reserves of 5 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
Production: Production from both gas fields is expected to begin in 2009 or 2010.
History: The A-1 block was discovered in January 2004, by Daewoo. The block A-3 was located in January 2006,

EXPERTS and economists say they are optimistic that discoveries of new natural gas reserves in Myanmar’s offshore blocks will boost the country’s foreign currency earnings.

MYANMAR’S government has invested heavily in hydropower electricity production by building a large network of power plants, which are widely considered to be environmentally friendly and an excellent source of renewable energy.

After the deadly Chernobyl reactor explosion in Ukraine in 1986 and a lesser scare at the Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania that rattled the United States in 1979, “people were wondering whether nuclear power even had a future,” said Yves Dufour, one of the directors of Areva, the world’s leading civilian nuclear power provider.

United Engineering Group of Companies (UE Group) is a group of companies engaged in engineering, construction, equipment rental and the provision of manpower to oil and gas companies. UE Group has supplied services for many major projects in Myanmar, namely .....

As of July 23, the number of CNG-powered cars in Myanmar was around 14,000, including about 13,500 in Yangon, according to Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Dealers at Yangon’s used car trading market predicted that domestic car production could play a major role in the future, especially with imports of new cars banned since 2001.

“Daewoo and PTTEP both have to build platforms and pipelines to transport the gas from the A-1, A-3 and M-9 blocks. This kind of infrastructure investment will certainly boost FDI for the next two or three years at least,”

THE US$100-a-barrel oil that Goldman Sachs said would prevail by 2009 may be only months away. Jeffrey Currie, a London-based commodity analyst at the world’s biggest securities firm, says $95 crude is likely this year unless OPEC unexpectedly increases production, and declining inventories are raising the chances for $100 oil.

Evergreen jatropha shrubs can reach a height of 5 metres, with a greyish green bark that exudes white latex when cut. Crucially, it grows pods of green, poisonous nuts that harden and go brown or black just before they fall off the tree. It is these nuts that are used to produce biodiesel.

“By implementing socio-economic programs we can help to raise the living standards of local people by providing better education and healthcare, including the provision of safe drinking water,”

After nearly two years, Raymond has finally delivered his answer: Because the world’s population is growing and living standards are rising worldwide, energy consumption globally is expected to rise by more than 50 percent over the next 25 years.

“We are now discussing with the PetroChina to sell our gas to China. It is still under negation but we hope to reach an agreement within the next few months,” said Dr Su-Yeong Yang, managing director of Daewoo International Corporation (Myanmar E&P).

“The discovery of gas deposits in the A-1 block was one of factor that attracted international oil companies to this region; in the past gas deposits like this would not have interested oil companies,” said U Chan Mya, general manager of Smart technical services company.

“The Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Andaman Sea impinge far less on the geopolitical consciousness of Southeast Asia and its policymakers than the South China Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Thailand,”