Govt signs PSC agreement with Jubilant and Parami
By Juliet Shwe Gaung
Volume 32, No. 629
PARAMI Energy Development signed a production sharing contract with India’s Jubilant Energy and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise for the PSC-I onshore oil and gas block on May 28.
Parami Energy and Jubilant Energy won the tender for the block during an onshore block auction announced in July last year.
A Parami Energy Group of Companies statement was released on May 28 to coincide with the visit of India’s Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to Myanmar.
Jubilant holds a 77.5 percent participating interest in the block through its subsidiary Jubilant Oil & Gas Private Ltd and will be the operator of the block, while Parami Energy holds the remaining 22.5pc interest, the press release stated.
“We are delighted to be awarded this highly prospective acreage in Myanmar. The acquisition of block PSC-I is a significant development for Jubilant and further emphasises our commitment to build an exciting portfolio of assets in proven and prolific hydrocarbon basins,” said Mr Shyam S Bhartia, chairman of Jubilant Energy.
“Jubilant will utilise its in-house expertise as operator of its four blocks in the States Tripura, Manipur and Assam, close to the Myanmar border and which are geologically and tectonically similar in setup to our newly awarded block in Myanmar,” he said.
The PSC-1 block covers an area of approximately 3600 square kilometres and is located about 125km northwest of Yangon in Ayeyarwady Region.
The press release said that the block falls within the Ayeyarwady delta sub-basin and partly in the Pyay embayment sub-basin of the central Myanmar basin, which also includes the giant Chauk-Lanywa and Yenangyaung oil and gas fields.
“We are working as an active partner with foreign shareholders,” said Parami Energy’s chief geologist, U Nu, during a Yangon Petroleum Gathering at Traders Hotel on March 16.
“We have jointly chosen the block and we believe we are going to be successful,” he added.
He said Parami Energy planned to increase its share in the block over time.
“The share percentages held by other local partners [in the onshore tender] are 3, 5 or 10pc. We have taken up the highest share interest of the local partners and plan to increase this,” U Nu said.
Production sharing contracts (PSC) were signed by Hong Kong’s EPI Holding Ltd and Aye Myint Khine Co Ltd for the RSF-10 block, and Swiss firm GeoPetrol International Holding Inc and A1 Mining Co Ltd for RSF-9 block in Nay Pyi Taw on March 9 and 11 respectively.
Parami Energy is also working on socioeconomic activities that have included installing solar panels to supply electricity to a hospital in Hpa-an, Kayin State. The company has also planted 200,000 trees in Hpa-an since 2011 and will plant a further 100,000 through this rainy season.
Parami Energy has also supported monasteries that provide education services in Zalun, Ayeyarwady Region and in Nay Pyi Taw by paying salaries for teachers.
