No further details were made available by the two parties but, in related news, the SE Asian nation is expected to increase its oil production by 67% this year in order to cut down on petrol and diesel imports.
According to the latest figures released by the country’s Ministry of Energy, the country’s domestic demand for the two products has tripled in the past decade while domestic production has stagnated at 109 million gallons per annum.
In an interview with the state-sanctioned Myanmar Times, the Ministry’s head of Energy Planning Soe Myint said, “[Myanmar will] be insulated from the effects of surging global oil prices as supply would be boosted from 12,000 barrels per day to 20,000 by year end to meet growing domestic demand. We are upgrading the refinery in Than Lyin to produce 12,000 barrels of crude oil daily [and] we are scheduled to produce more diesel and petrol.”
“In the financial year 2004-2005, we are scheduled to import US$250 million of fuel from abroad, mainly through contracts with Petronas Oil Company of Malaysia. Most [will] be diesel, with half bought in cash and the other half through agricultural barter,” he added.
