Almost a year after the coup of February 1, 2021, and following the revelation of the “world” on its contribution to the financing of the military junta, the Oil Major announces its withdrawal of the country.
Le Monde
This time, TotalEnergies (ex-total) resigns to withdrawal. “At once as an operator and as a shareholder, without any financial counterparty”, the French Oil Major has announced its decision to withdraw from the controversial exploitation of the Yadana field, a gas field at sea Operated by the French company since the decade 1990. In question, according to a statement issued on Friday, January 21 in the morning, “the abuses and violations of human rights” in Burma, where a junta took power by a coup d’etat, The er February 2021.
“We do not know yet how total will come out, but a responsible divestment should not result in the place on the side of the national unity government [opposition in exile] and the collusion with the junta to choose a new Shareholder who in turn steals the wealth of the country, “says Ben Hardman, from the NGO Earthrights International. “The Welcome Decision of TotalEnergies reflects the importance of avoiding any complicity with the Atrocities committed by the Myanmar Junta. The next step is to ensure that gas revenues do not continue to finance these atrocities”, considers it Côté Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.
The withdrawal of TotalEnergies, which holds until then 31% of the Units, “will be effective at the latest after the six-month notice period provided for in the contract”, is it specified in the statement: ” Agreements provide that in the case of withdrawal, the interests of Totalnergies will be divided between the current partners, unless the operator’s role will be taken up by one of the partners. “In this case: the American Chevron (28%) and Thai Pettep (26%), a subsidiary of the National Thai Energy Society; But also the company at the heart of controversy, the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), up to 15%, which acts under the control of the Burmese army.
Financial assembly
This withdrawal is in particular following the revelations of the world, which had highlighted, in May 2021, a financial assembly around the underwater pipeline of 346 km connecting the yadana deposit in Thailand. A system where hundreds of millions of dollars escaped the Burmese state, and rather took advantage of the MOGE, a public company in opaque management, controlled by the military.
On January 18, the French group had sent a letter to the NGO Human Rights International, in which it claimed for the first time “supporting targeted sanctions” on the financial flows fueling the public company MOGE, while stating that “All payments made to MOGE, as representing the State of Myanmar or as a partner of the joint venture, are actually done by PTT, Thai National Society that buys the gas to export”. In this letter, consulted by Le Monde, Total also specifies that it will continue to pay taxes with the Burman Treasury because “non-payment” would be considered a “crime”.
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