Advocacy groups seek EU sanctions across Myanmar’s oil and gas sector
The groups cite a Cyprus-registered company’s involvement at the Zawtika gas field and want European firms excluded from projects in Myanmar.
Fourteen advocacy groups are pressing the European Union to extend sanctions to the whole of Myanmar’s oil and gas extraction sector. They also want a ban on European companies taking part in oil and gas projects in the country.
Their statement, issued on Oct. 20, alleges that SED Energy, registered in Cyprus, has a significant operational role at Zawtika in the Gulf of Martaban. Gas from the field reportedly feeds a recently reopened refinery in Thanlyin Township, Yangon.
SED Energy works at the field alongside Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP). The advocacy groups said PTTEP is a joint-venture partner of the military-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
EU sanctions against MOGE have applied since 2022 over foreign revenue it provided to the military authorities after the 2021 coup. MOGE also faces US and Swiss sanctions. The groups seeking broader restrictions include Fortify Rights, Burma Campaign UK and Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK).
