BURMESE GOVERNMENT IN DEBT FOR OIL AND GAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001036 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS; INR/EAP; OES FOR JMIOTKE AND ACOVINGTON; EAP FOR JYAMAMOTO; EEB FOR TSAEGER PACOM FOR FPA; TREASURY FOR OASIA:SCHUN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2017 TAGS: ECON ENRG PGOV EPET BM SUBJECT: BURMESE GOVERNMENT IN DEBT FOR OIL AND GAS REF: RANGOON 1035 RANGOON 00001036 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Economic Officer Samantha A. Carl-Yoder for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Despite more than $2 billion in revenues from oil and gas last year, the GOB owes three private companies more than $10 million for onshore oil production. GoldPetrol has outstanding invoices dating back to mid-2006, Focus Energy has not been paid in six months, and MPRL, a Burmese company with close ties to the government, just received a payment after a two-month delay. The GOB, however, consistently pays Chinese-owned CNCP on time. According to the Minister of Energy, the issue is out of his hands; the Senior Generals control the budget. There are several possible reasons for the delayed payments, including the use of the energy budget to supplement the construction of Nai Pyi Taw and to cover the rising costs of Burma's oil imports. Industry insiders insinuate, however, that the Senior General transferred a significant portion of the $2 billion directly into his own bank accounts, to the detriment of Burma's economy. End Summary. We Produce But Don't Get Paid -------------- ¶2. (C) Burma's onshore oil and gas production, an average of 10,000 barrels a day, only meets a quarter of domestic demand. Although the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned, military-controlled enterprise responsible for oil and gas production, controls more than 70 percent of onshore fields, four additional companies -- Burmese-owned Mymanr Petroluem Resources Limited (MPRL),Burmese-Swiss joint venture Focus Energy, Indonesian-French GoldPetrol, and Chinese-owned CNPC -- have production rights in fields throughout the country (Reftel). Officials from MPRL, Focus, and GoldPetrol confirmed that they, per their contracts, must sell all oil and gas produced from onshore fields to MOGE for domestic use. ¶3. (C) In a meeting with Raymond Bona, General Manager of GoldPetrol, he informed us that several companies, including GoldPetrol, were having problems with MOGE. GoldPetrol, which produces more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day for MOGE, has not been paid since mid-2006. As of October 1, MOGE owed GoldPetrol more than $7 million. GoldPetrol has tried to work with MOGE and the Ministry of Energy for payment, traveling to Nai Pyi Taw on several occasions to meet with the Minister of Energy. In early 2007, MOGE told GoldPetrol that although it was willing to pay, it did not have enough money. ¶4. (C) During the last meeting between GoldPetrol and the GOB in July, the Minister of Energy informed Bona that the issue was out of his hands. Referring to Burma's top two generals, the Minister stated that "Number 1 and Number 2" would decide GoldPetrol's fate. In response, GoldPetrol filed a local arbitration suit against the Burmese Government last August, although Bona acknowledged that nothing would come of it. Because GoldPetrol is a publicly traded company (on the Singapore and Jakarta stock exchanges),it must follow standard procedures outlined by the shareholders, he explained. Mid-level MOGE officials told Bona that, on the Senior General's orders, money from the MOGE budget was used to pay for the construction of Nay Pyi Taw. ¶5. (C) Other companies producing from onshore fields also face the same problems with MOGE, Bona noted. Richard Jessop, Chief Geologist at Focus Energy confirmed that MOGE has yet to pay for six months worth of oil production - a RANGOON 00001036 002.2 OF 003 total of more than $2 million. MOGE also owes money to MPRL, which is owned by U Moe Myint, who has close ties to the government. According to Bona, U Moe Myint has had more luck negotiating with the senior leadership and only experienced a two month delay of payment. Chinese-owned CNPC/Chinnery Assets is the only company that has not been stiffed by the GOB, Jessop asserted. Why the Delay? -------------- ¶6. (C) Although the GOB never gave Focus Energy or GoldPetrol justifications for holding payment, both Bona and Jessop speculated on two reasons for the MOGE's cash flow problems. In addition to using the MOGE budget to pay for the construction of Nai Pyi Taw, Bona noted that Burma's energy deficiency - the fact that it imports more than 80 percent of fuel used - was proving too costly. As the cost of oil per barrel continues to skyrocket, the Burmese Government, he informed us, must pay more to cover imports of oil and gas from Malaysia. A quick way to obtain some money, he elucidated, was to put the squeeze on onshore producers, who under contract, must turn over all production to MOGE. The GOB also raised fuel prices 300 percent in August to raise necessary revenues, he added. Jessop provided us with the same perspective, although he was a bit more cynical. "How much money from the $2 billion in oil and gas revenues did the senior generals tuck into their personal bank accounts in Singapore?" he asked. Effects on Business -------------- ¶7. (C) Bona explained that GoldPetrol still has a solid relationship with MOGE, and the state-owned enterprise quickly approves all of GoldPetrol's license and import requests. The lack of payment, however, has jeopardized GoldPetrol's operations in Burma - the company laid off more than 20 staff and has had to rely on profits from GoldPetrol International to cover operating costs and salaries for workers. The company has held several shareholder meetings to discuss next steps; Bona informed us that if there is no resolution of the payment issue by March 2008, GoldPetrol will pull out of Burma. ¶8. (C) Bona also noted that he has met with several perspective buyers, including Indian-owned Essar and CNPC. While companies have shown interest in buying GoldPetrol's contract and operations, they fear that the GOB will continue to withhold production payments. GoldPetrol's fields already produce oil, so any company that purchases the contract would have to continue production. Companies such as Essar, which have exploration contracts for onshore blocks, do not currently face the same problems. Although the Chinese companies have shown interest, Bona believes that GoldPetrol's operations are too small for them. The Chinese want to control large blocks, he elaborated, and they want to be able to sell their gas to China. GoldPetrol's current contract prohibits international sales, making it unattractive for Chinese companies CNPC, Sinopec, and CNOOC. ¶9. (C) Jessop admitted that the lack of payment has disrupted Focus Energy's operations. Many of the staff, including locals and international contractors, have not received salaries in five months. Focus only recently paid Jessop for his services (Jessop acts as a consultant and does not rely solely on Focus for his salary). A majority of Focus's 200 staff have taken pay cuts, and others have begun to search for other jobs. Ye Myat Soe, Technical Coordinator at Focus, told us the management has not yet decided how to RANGOON 00001036 003.2 OF 003 proceed, but will be forced to reevaluate operations by December. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) This is just one more example of the senior generals' gross economic mismanagement, which has created the economic misery afflicting the Burmese people. Instead of injecting revenues into programs that would benefit the country -- infrastructure and economic improvement projects, health care, education, or even modernizing current oil and gas operations to improve production -- the government squandered the money to build up Nai Pyi Taw, much of which is already crumbling. The fact that the generals are not paying their bills, combined with the fuel price hike, indicates the generals are facing a cash crunch. Rising oil and gas prices for Burma's resources cannot offset the significantly greater amounts they must import. They have squeezed the people as much as they can, and now are squeezing the producers. Now they must face the squeeze: Than Shwe, Maung Aye, and their cronies must limit their personal drains on the budget. Some may soon decide to bail out and retire on their funds already stashed in Singapore and elsewhere. VILLAROSA