Indo-Myanmar LNG project in danger

Press Trust of India: 31 December, 2006

New Delhi: The proposed Rs 8,500-crore Myanmar-India gas pipeline is on the verge of being shelved as Yangon is likely to opt for an LNG project to exploit gas finds in two blocks and selling it to other countries, Japan or Korea being the most likely destinations. After finding the bids for selling gas through a pipeline to either China and India or Thailand "unsatisfactory", state-run Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) early December called for bids for selling 3.5 million tons per annum of LNG from Daewoo's A-1 and A-3 blocks.

Daewoo is the operator of the block with 60 per cent stake while Korea's KoGas has 10 per cent interest. India's ONGC has 20 per cent and GAIL 10 per cent in the blocks. "In all 10 companies, mostly from China, Japan and Korea put in bids. State-run GAIL (India) Ltd also bid but was told that its bid was not the highest," a source said.

Marubeni of Japan and KoGas of Korea have emerged as the top bidder for the LNG. The Japanese firm is believed to have offered a price close to seven dollars per million British thermal unit. GAIL had offered about 5 dollars per mBtu, the same price as the one offered by it for taking gas through an onland pipeline.

The source said Daewoo has already written to GAIL informing non-acceptance of the bid. "Officially, the bids are still under evaluation but companies like GAIL have already been informed of rejection of bid." "If MOGE accepts the LNG bids, the Myanmar-India pipeline will never come," the source said.