Perbadanan Pembangunan Perdagangan Luar Malaysia

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in collaboration with Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) is organising the participation of 14 Malaysian companies in a specialised mission for oil & gas sector to Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon, Myanmar. The mission starts today till 5 December 2014. The main focus of the mission is to facilitate Malaysian companies’ registration process with the Ministry of Energy (MOE), Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and Energy Planning Department (EPD).

MATRADE Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Wong Lai Sum said, this year’s mission is a continuation of oil & gas missions organised by MATRADE in 2011 and 2013, in which some companies including SMEs, have successfully acquired projects in the country.

Datuk Dr Wong Lai Sum added, “The mission programme includes meetings with Myanmar oil & gas authorities and key companies in Myanmar. It will also include sessions for each Malaysian participant to present their companies’ capabilities directly to the Myanmar oil & gas authorities in Nay Pyi Taw. The mission will end in Yangon where participants will be meeting PETRONAS Myanmar and contract owners such as Parami Energy Group of Companies, Daewoo E&P, Shwe Taung Group of Companies and Total E&P. MATRADE anticipates that the Malaysian companies will be able to build a strong foothold in Myanmar oil & gas market.”

Myanmar is an important natural gas producer in Southeast Asia, though its upstream hydrocarbons sector is underdeveloped. The country has increased exploration activities, allowed for greater foreign companies’ investment and cooperation in the oil & gas sectors, and introduced market reform to support the energy industry. These measures have contributed in increasing oil & gas production in the recent years. In view of the country's rapid economic growth and industrialization, export market expansions have spurred domestic energy consumption.

Myanmar has a promising 555 billion cubic metres (bcm) of proven natural gas resources and 50 million barrels of proven oil reserves. Myanmar’s oil & gas reserves have not been sufficiently explored using modern seismic technology, making it an exciting prospective exploration target. This provides enormous potential for Malaysian oil & gas companies in the upstream (exploration and production), midstream (transportation, pipeline) and in the future downstream (refinery) services providers in the oil and gas industry.

According to one participant, Dr Ragunath Bharath from Innovative Fluid Process Sdn Bhd, “We are really excited to participate in this mission as it is different compared to the previous missions I have participated under MATRADE. This year, MATRADE has arranged for us to meet up with the senior officials from MOE, MOGE and EPD as well as PETRONAS Myanmar and project owners in Myanmar.”

Dato’ Rosdin Mohd Yusup from Duta Klasik Sdn Bhd said, "Duta Klasik's participation in this mission is to follow through from our participation in MATRADE's oil & gas mission to Myanmar last year. We see that this year's mission could push through our efforts to penetrate Myanmar market and to expedite the registration process with the Myanmar oil & gas authorities".

Malaysia oil & gas delegates for this mission comprise of suppliers of spare parts and equipment, metal component such as valve and pipe fitting, mud-cooling system, SSV actuators, well-heads system, precision tools & component, and chemicals for oil & gas industry.

The participating companies for services sector in this mission offer Positive Pressure Welding Enclosure (PPWE) @ habitat services, hyrdrogen sulphide (H2S) services, basic and detail engineering services, process engineering and process safety services, construction and engineering services, non-destructive test for inspection of pipe lines installation, geophysical surveying, positioning & navigation, geotechnical engineering services, mud logging services, solution provider in reliability engineering & virtual prototyping (VP) of plants, waste handling & management. Complementing these are other services which include offshore facilities, fabrication steel, marine, regal terminal construction & petrochemical, training & consultancy, consultancy for HSE related matters, marine service operator, drilling services, operating and catering services of Offshore Support Vessels.

In 2013, Myanmar was Malaysia’s 40th largest global trading partner and the 6th largest trading partner among ASEAN member economies accounting for 0.2% of Malaysia’s total trade. In the same year, Malaysia’s total trade with Myanmar increased by 5.2% to RM2.9 billion, with exports amounting to RM2.2 billion.