Regional LNG: Myanmar mulls developing LNG plant on giant discovery

Myanmar's giant A-1 gas find may be large enough to support an expanded liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project as well as new pipelines to India and Thailand, a senior oil official said on Tuesday as quoted by Reuters

The South Korean-led project has already initiated LNG supply discussions with prospective buyers in Thailand, China and India, U Soe Myint, director general of the energy planning department at Myanmar's Ministry of Energy, told reporters.

"If the reserves hit the maximum level then we could go for all the options together," he said on the sidelines of an industry conference. "We are starting to promote (LNG) already."

Block A-1 may cost some $4 billion to develop and has gas reserves estimated at 11.3 to 19.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), he said, more than twice the size thought a year ago and about equivalent to the southeast Asian country's proven reserves.

An LNG project, first mooted last year, has now been expanded to include potentially two 3.5 million tonne per year (tpy) trains, which should be able to come onstream before 2010, earlier than other pipeline altneratives, he said.

The pipeline to India -- under consideration by three different routes, including overland and subsea -- is part of New Delhi's efforts to lock in fuel for its fast-growing economy. It is also pursuing pipelines from Iran and central Asia.

A new pipeline to Thailand, which already draws about a quarter of its natural gas demand from Myanmar, could tie in with the $1.2 billion Yadana gas field, which is already exporting 650 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) to Thailand.

Myanmar's exports some 1.1 mmscfd of gas to its southern neighbour, which is also pressing ahead with plans to build an LNG import terminal by early 2011.

U Soe Myint said final decisions on these options would be possible toward the middle of next year.

"We hope to have another drilling campaign late this year and get a third-party reserve estimate in the first or second quarter of next year," he said.

South Korea's Daewoo International operates the A-1 block with a 60 percent share, while India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has 20 percent and marketing firm Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Korea Gas Corp have 10 percent each.(*)