Myanmar (Burma) wants LNG and is considering all options
The country issued a vague tender last year to buy LNG. No volume, time period or delivery port was mentioned, according to southeast Asian law firm VDB Loi, which has been advising the government.
While the World Bank has estimated that Myanmar would need 3.4mn t/yr to meet demand, VDB Loi senior partner Edwin Vanderbruggen has seen other estimates ranging from 1.8mn t/yr to 8.4mn t/yr because of uncertainty over government policy for building power plants.
On the back Burma
Myanmar has a population of over 50mn, but just 3GW of power generation capacity. The government has already indicated that it would like to use gas for power instead of coal. It has approved seven power projects, five of which can use gas and two solar. No coal-fired plants are planned.
Initial plans are to add 500MW of capacity a year, but this would be below actual demand, Vanderbruggen said, adding that the country could install three to four times more and still not meet demand. Previously, the government said it wanted 40pc of the power mix to be coal-fired, but because no coal-fired projects have been approved, it is assumed that part of the plan has been scrapped.
It's the Thailand countdown
And while the government has issued an open-ended tender, other companies have begun private discussions with the government for importing LNG. This include Malaysia's Petronas, [Thailand's PTT], (https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/1060630) Shell, and [Total], as well as Japanese and South Korean consortiums.
If one or more of these projects are realised, it could mean the tender is abandoned, according to VDB Loi. And four possible sites have been proposed for a possible floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) — at Kyauk Phyu, Ngayok Bay, and two around Kalgauk Island. Each will take around three years to complete.
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