Statement on Thailand’s Pursuit of New Gas Projects that Channel Blood Money to the Myanmar Criminal Junta

Following the military coup attempt in Myanmar in February 2021, international energy companies withdrew from offshore oil and natural gas projects, Malaysia-based Petronas exited in April 2022, France-based TotalEnergies left in July 2022, and U.S.- based Chevron withdrew in April 2024.

However, PTTEP, a subsidiary of the Thai state-owned company PTT, took over and shared the stakes of the withdrawing companies, TotalEnergies and Chevron, along with Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), and became the operator of the Yadana and Zawtika projects. Furthermore, Gulf Petroleum Myanmar (GPM), a privately owned Thai company, also shared the Petronas’ stakes with MOGE and became the operator of the Yetagun project.

According to press releases, the new wells being drilled in the Zawtika project are expected to begin production of natural gas in early 2026, and the new projects ‘Aung Sinkha’ and ‘Min Ye Thu’ are currently being planned to start extraction of natural gas in 2028.

Although the United States and the European Union have prohibited the use of US dollars and euros by the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE)—the lifeline for the military junta’s weapons purchases—the PTTEP company continues to channel blood-stained gas revenues using Thai banks and the Thai Baht currency.

Despite repeated calls and urges from organisations within Myanmar and the international community to stop bankrolling gas payment to the military junta, the Thai state-owned PTTEP and the Thai private-owned Gulf Petroleum Myanmar (GPM) company have ignored the voices of the people of Myanmar. They continue to operate in old projects and are also signing new projects with MOGE.

The Thai oil and gas companies PTT, PTTEP, and Gulf Petroleum Myanmar, are complicit by financially supporting the war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the military junta in Myanmar. They must be held fully accountable to the people of Myanmar who are suffering these atrocities.

According to a statement from Myanmar Energy Monitor on February 12, 2025, PTTEP is the operator of the Yadana project with a 62.963% stake and is the operator of the Zawtika project with an 80% stake.

On April 10, 2025, PTTEP signed a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with MOGE to cooperate in expanding gas production from the Yadana project.

On May 29, 2025, Gulf Petroleum Myanmar (GPM) signed a production sharing contract with MOGE for a new project named ‘Min Ye Thu’ in the Mottama Offshore block. GPM is part of the Northern Gulf Petroleum group of companies, which is based in Thailand.

On October 10, 2025, the junta-controlled Minister of Energy and the CEO of PTTEP met and held further discussions on increasing gas production from the Yadana and Zawtika projects. Additionally, they discussed a new offshore project named ‘Aung Sinkha’ under the topic of electricity generation for domestic use in Myanmar.

To PTT, PTTEP, and Gulf Petroleum Myanmar :

1) Immediately stop the complicity in atrocity crimes by bankrolling the gas payments to the Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which is controlled by the military junta.

2) Responsibility to store all public funds (gas revenues) into an escrow account, where the junta cannot access or misuse the money.

3) Special responsibility to suspend all further contract signings for new oil and gas production projects, which would allow the junta to earn more ‘blood money’ from new projects.

Background on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE)

The Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) is a state-owned enterprise, but since the military attempted coup, it has been fully controlled by the terrorist military junta. The foreign income generated by MOGE accounts for 70–80 percent of the country’s revenue, amounting to millions of dollars. This money is a lifeline financial resource for the criminal military junta’s war expenditures.

The military junta is able to purchase arms, aviation fuel, aircraft, equipment, and military technology from the international community using the taxes and revenues received from MOGE. These resources are necessary to carry out daily aerial bombings against the people of Myanmar.

The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on MOGE on February 21, 2022. On October 31, 2023, the United States imposed sanctions that prohibited the use of the US Dollar currency for MOGE. Following the restrictive measures imposed by the European Union (EU), Switzerland also imposed sanctions on MOGE on March 11, 2025.

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