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Alert - Japan-Burma Activists



29Oct96 BURMA: BURMA STILL NEGOTIATING PURCHASE OF SWEET CRUDE. 08:07 GMT  

RANGOON, Oct 29 (Reuter) - Burma is still holding informal negotiations to
buy low sulphur "sweet" crude with about five potential suppliers, mostly
Japanese firms, sources at the ministry of energy said on Tuesday.
The sources did not detail how much crude was being sought but told Reuters
that Marubeni Corp, Mitsui and Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp were among the
firms involved in the negotiations.
"We are negotiating with some reputable selected bidders, including our
former suppliers to supply crude to Myanmar (Burma)," said a senior ministry
official who declined to be identified.
When asked to elaborate on terms and conditions of the country's planned
purchase, the official said details were not available. But he added: "We
will import sweet crude only since all our refineries can only refine it."
Burma's crude oil imports amount to nearly $100 million annually, according
to official data. Demand for petrol has shot up in the country since car
imports have risen sharply in recent years.
Last month, residents in Rangoon said they were hit by a shortage of petrol
and diesel oil which sparked panic buying.  
At that time, Japan's Mitsui, a key supplier of crude to Burma, said Rangoon
was behind in some of its payments for crude oil and diesel fuel sold under
annual term contracts.
Mitsui said then that it had fulfilled all obligations on the term contract
which expired on September 7, including cargo loadings.
Burma's military government then denied there was a shortage of oil and said
the rumours were triggered by some manipulators who wanted to push up prices
to make profits.
Private car owners in the country often have to rely on the black market to
top up their tanks as most are only permitted to buy two gallons of petrol a
week.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE
 29Oct96 JAPAN: NIPPON OIL, TEXACO PLAN BURMA NATURAL GAS OUTPUT. 07:04 GMT  
TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuter) - Nippon Oil Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it aims to
start commercial production of natural gas off Burma in 1999, together with
Texaco Inc of the United States and Britain's Premier Oil Plc.  
A Nippon Oil spokesman said the three companies reached a basic agreement
with Thailand and Burma on Tuesday to sell 30,000 barrels per day worth of
natural gas to Thailand.
The natural gas, from the offshore Yetagun gas field, will be sold to
Thailand's power utilities through the state-owned Petroleum Authority of
Thailand, he said.
The offshore field in the Andaman Sea, about 270 km (160 miles) west of
Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, should produce about 200 million cubic
feet per day.
The operator of the field is Texaco, which holds 50 percent of the gas
field's rights.  
Premier holds 30 percent of the rights and Nippon Oil the remaining 20 percent.
The Nippon Oil spokesman said he could not immediately provide an estimate
of the total cost of the project.
He said it would be the first time a Japanese oil company would be involved
in the commercial production of natural gas in Burma.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1996
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




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