Total in Myanmar

Milestones

• Production sharing contract signed in July 1992. 
• Total E&P Myanmar’s Code of Conduct introduced in mid-1995.
• Construction work ($1 billion investment) implemented between October 1995 and June 1998.
• Commercial production for export began in 2000: average production from 2001 to June 2010: 18.54 million cubic meters per day.
• Commercial production for the domestic Myanmar market: 1.48 million cubic meters per day since June 2010.

Project Description

• Four investors in the Yadana Consortium: Total E&P Myanmar, operator (31.2%); an affiliate of Unocal, now Chevron (28.3%); Petroleum Authority of Thailand-Exploration & Production (PTT-EP, 25.5%); and Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE, 15%).
• Offshore gas production unit, 346-kilometer subsea pipeline, 63-kilometer onshore pipeline through Thanintharyi Division to the Thai border.
• Thirty years of estimated reserves.
• Eighty-seven percent of gas production sold to Thailand to supply gas-fired power plants in the Bangkok area.
• The socio-economic program for villages in the onshore pipeline area was introduced in early 1995.

Impact of Total’s Presence in Myanmar

• Job opportunities: 2,500 people employed during the construction phase; 800 for the operating phase; 95% of the comfpany’s workforce is Myanmar nationals; $11 million spent on training.
• Transfer of technology and management methods to MOGE and local contractors.
• Accompanying socio-economic program (see below).
• Environmentally responsible development of local resources generating substantial revenue for the country and forging long-term economic ties with Thailand.
• A Western observer on the ground.

The Socio-Economic Program

• Launched in early 1995 in the pipeline area to establish trust-based relationships with local residents and to foster sustainable local development.
• Designed in close cooperation with villagers (elected Village Communication Committees).
• $23.61 million invested to end-2010, of which $2.84 million in 2010 alone.
• In 2010, 57% of the budget was spent in the pipeline area and 43% was allocated to the national program.
• Initiatives in the pipeline area, which comprises 25 villages with around 33,000 inhabitants, out of a total regional population of 50,000.
• Priorities: public health, education, economic development, infrastructure.
• Total E&P Myanmar’s SEP team members: The program is supervised and run by 10 doctors, three communication officers, four veterinarians, four agriculturalists, two program officers, a micro-finance program officer and our contributors (see Micro-Finance)..
• At end-2010, a total of 113 people worked for the socio-economic program, including 30 in Yangon.

Achievements

A survey conducted in 2010 showed that 93.9% of households in the pipeline area have received assistance from the socio-economic program and that 96% of them have a positive perception of it. 

• Free health care and immunization: the infant mortality rate is less than half that of the average for the country (18.7 per 1,000 versus 44.8 per 1,000 nationally).
• Mortality from the most prevalent local diseases reduced by 66 to 95%.
• Education: school attendance has doubled, reaching 9,061 students in 2010.
• Economic development: pig, chicken and cattle farming; rice, cashew nut, oil palm, cocoa and rubber tree cultivation.
• Infrastructure: permanent roads, bridges, a hospital, 22 local health centers, 45 schools, and public amenities such as markets, pagodas, a meeting room and a soccer field.
• The main achievement is social and economic stability and the eradication of forced labor.

National initiatives 

• Support for six orphanages in the Yangon area, for nearly 1,200 children.
• Support for a nationwide program to prevent blindness, in partnership with the Helen Keller International Foundation.
• HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Mandalay with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (UNION) and the World Health Organization (WHO), under the auspices of renowned U.S. researcher Dr. Robert Gallo.
• Financial support for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), to provide governance training for Myanmar officials.
• Total E&P Myanmar also provides support to various organizations on a smaller scale: logistics support for the Association Médicale Franco-Asiatique (AMFA), founded by Dr. Alain Patel, support for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, etc.

An Open Attitude    

• Socio-economic program reviewed by independent experts, including CDA Collaborative Learning Projects and Bernard Kouchner.
• Numerous visits by journalists, local NGOs, diplomats and others.
• Dialogue with the authorities about labor practices.