PTTEP denies wrongdoing over energy blocks

PTTEP denies wrongdoing over energy blocks

By Thomas Kean   |   Thursday, 15 August 2013

PTTEP has denied any wrongdoing in its acquisition of the MD-7 and MD-8 deepwater blocks, saying it has a policy of not paying bribes in exchange for exploration licences.

Chief executive Tevin Vongvanich made the comments to the Bangkok Post in response to an August 5 report in The Myanmar Times that quoted senior industry sources as saying that the manner in which the blocks were awarded to the Thai energy firm earlier this year had been a factor in the recent removal of energy minister U Than Htay. The report made no mention of bribes being paid for the blocks.

The company was awarded the concessions just months after a planned tender of 30 shallow and deepwater blocks was delayed in September 2012 over transparency concerns. The tender is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2014 – but does not include the MD-7 and MD-8 blocks.

Mr Tevin said negotiations for these blocks had begun in early 2010 and the decision to award them to PTTEP had been approved by the cabinet.

"We talked to the Myanmar government for many years, and have yet to start drilling in the two blocks, so we don't know if we will find gas, oil or anything," he was quoted as saying.

Mr Tevin said his company "strictly adhere[s] to transparency when doing business".

"We are a publicly listed company with a lot of auditors such as the Office of the Auditor-General of Thailand, as well as shareholders and the Securities and Exchange Commission," he said. "It is easy to audit us and examine how the company operates."

Thai Minister for Energy Pongsak Raktapongpaisal also rejected suggestions bribes had been paid. "PTTEP is majority-owned by the state-owned company PTT. We would not let this happen," Mr Pongsak told the Bangkok Post.

The Ministry of Energy has never been made clear why the blocks were awarded without using a bidding process. When the present tender was postponed in September 2012, an official from Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise told The Myanmar Times that corruption in the Ministry of Energy had been facilitated by the lack of a competitive bidding system.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/15/pttep-denies-wrongdoing-over-energy-blocks/