SYDNEY: US energy giant Chevron said it will pull out from Myanmar in a statement on Friday, shortly after French oil company TotalEnergies announced its own withdrawal from the country over "worsening" human rights abuses.
"In light of circumstances in Myanmar, we have reviewed our interest in the Yadana natural gas project to enable a planned and orderly transition that will lead to an exit from the country," Chevron spokesman Cameron Van Ast said in the statement, referring to the TotalEnergies-operated gas field.
"We have been in discussions with the operator to understand their position. As a non-operator with a minority interest in the project, our immediate priority remains the safety and well-being of employees, safe operations and the supply of much-needed energy for the people of Myanmar and Thailand."
TotalEnergies will also withdraw from its Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, which provides electricity to the local Burmese and Thai population, and produces around six billion cubic metres of gas per year.
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"The situation, in terms of human rights and more generally the rule of law, which have kept worsening in Myanmar... has led us to reassess the situation and no longer allows TotalEnergies to make a sufficiently positive contribution in the country," the company said.
Chevron's affiliate, Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co., has been in Myanmar since the early 1990s.
It holds a minority, non-operated interest in the Yadana project.
Human Rights Watch says natural gas projects are Myanmar's single largest source of foreign currency revenue, generating more than $1 billion every year.
More than 1,400 civilians have been killed as the military cracks down on dissent after a coup last year ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a local monitoring group.
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