Italy-based oil and gas giant Eni inked a deal with Myanmar Production and Exploration Company for two onshore production sharing contracts, Eni said Thursday.
The deal is a joint-venture between Eni Myanamar B.V., the operator of the contract with a 90 percent interest, and Myanmar Production and Exploration Company holding the remaining 10 percent.
The contracts are for the RSF-5 and PSC-K onshore blocks.
Block RSF-5 covers an area of 0.5 sq mi (1.292 sqkm) in the Salin Basin about 300 miles (500 km) north of Yangon near the country’s southwestern coast.
Block PSC-K covers an area of 2.5 sq mi (6.558 sqkm) in the unexplored Pegu Yoma-Sittaung Basin located in the central part of Myanmar.
The exploration period will last 6 years, subdivided into 3 phases.
The agreement marks Eni’s first entry into Myanmar.
Eni already has operations in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Timor Leste.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Myanmar’s total liquid fuels production has gradually increased from 13,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2000 to 21,000 bbl/d in 2013.
Myanmar’s natural gas production rose nearly seven fold from 61 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 1999 to 416 Bcf in 2012, primarily from offshore projects.
