Weekly Business Roundup (October 17, 2009)

Further Exploration of Rich Shwe Gas Field Set to Begin

More exploration of the massive Shwe gas field in Burmese waters in the Bay of Bengal is to begin soon.

Singapore-based Myanmar Petroleum Resources, known as MPRL, says it is preparing to make a 3D seismic study of Block A6 in the Shwe field.

Block A6, covering almost 10,000 square kilometers, is adjacent to Blocks A1 and A3, which have proven gas reserves of about 200 billion cubic meters and are about to be developed by a consortium led by South Korea’s Daewoo.

Oil and gas industry media reports say the seismic assessment will help decide where to sink a well later next year.

MPRL describes itself as “an independent exploration and production company privately owned by a group of investors.” It has operational offices in Singapore but is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a well-known tax haven in the Caribbean.

Its ownership is uncertain but the chairman and CEO is Rangoon businessman Moe Myint.

The firm’s known partner in the A-6 contract is the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, controlled by the Burmese junta.

MPRL also has development rights for the Mann oil field in central Burma. Company reports have claimed reserves of up to 10 million barrels of oil there, but production is less than 3,000 barrels per day.

All the gas in blocks A-1 and A-3 of the Shwe field are being bought by China.

Burmese Navy ‘Intimidating’ Gas Firms Working for Bangladesh

An American law firm hired by the government of Bangladesh has accused the Burmese navy of intimidating foreign oil and gas explorers working inside Bangladeshi waters in the Bay of Bengal.

Boston-based firm Foley Hoag is representing Bangladesh in its offshore territory claims to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“The exaggerated claims of Myanmar [Burma] and India, and aggressive actions by Myanmar in particular, have effectively prevented Bangladesh from exploiting potentially huge deposits of oil and natural gas located off its coast,” said Foley Hoag’s Paul Reichler, who is head of the team putting together Bangladesh’s claim.

Bangladesh says the Burmese military-run Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise granted concessions to oil companies that have worked in disputed areas “without prior notice to or consent by Bangladesh,” according to a preliminary report by Foley Hoag.

Naval vessels from both countries confronted each other one year ago after Bangladesh found South Korea’s Daewoo drilling on behalf of Burma in a disputed area. Daewoo withdrew from the site, which remains one of several unresolved sea territory claims.

Bangladesh has filed a demand for compulsory arbitration by the UN, and Burma and India have until early November to respond. So far, they have remained silent, said Foley Hoag.

Australian Clothes Firm Quits Burma after Child Labor Report

Major Australian clothes retailer Specialty Fashion Group is to cease trading with Burmese suppliers after a US Department of Labor report documented widespread use of child and forced labor in Burmese factories.

The firm, which has more than 800 shops across Australia, said in a statement it was ceasing trade with Burmese factories “due to the continued repression of the Burmese people and the ongoing presence of military rule.”

Specialty Fashion Group said it had decided that Burma contravened the firm’s own human and social rights compliance code.

The company was one of eight named by the human rights group Burma Campaign Australia in its recent “Don’t Deal with Burma” campaign.

Burma Trade Group to Open Offices in China and India

Burma’s junta-approved Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry is to open liaison offices in China and India in a bid to boost trade.

The federation will open an office in Nanning in southern China by the end of this month, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Nanning has hosted a number of trade fairs designed to boost trade between China the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The office opening will coincide with the 6th China-Asean fair, on Oct.