PTTEP reaffirmed its commitment to the development and growth of Myanmar’s oil and gas industry at the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2018 this week. 
Despite the exploration and development challenges in Myanmar’s oil and gas sector, opportunities for successful discovery and production can be captured with the effective use of innovation and people, said Mr. Piya Sukumpanumet, General Manager of PTTEP Myanmar Asset, at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Asia 2018 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 23 March 2018.
“We know there are gases in the Gulf of Mottama but the challenge is in identifying economic and efficient methods to develop the gas. In this respect, technology is a key focus for PTTEP,” he said. “Analysis of our long-term experience operating across various geographical locations indicates that significant improvements in exploration and development efficiency can be achieved when we have a mix of the right people and technology.”
Elaborating further, Mr. Piya explained: “It not only enables us to meet our objectives, but to also go beyond the boundaries that we are used to. This is why PTTEP has identified Myanmar as one of the countries where we will invest heavily in technology and innovation which are related to our existing operations, for example Sand Control Completion and Myanmar Minimum Facility Platforms.”
Mr. Piya was speaking at the conference’s Myanmar country session, alongside a panel of oil and gas experts and representatives from the Myanmar Ministry of Electricity & Energy, MPRL E&P, PETRONAS Carigali Myanmar Ltd, Total E&P Myanmar and Schlumberger.
During the session, Mr. Piya shared the challenges of operating in Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar. On the exploration front, geographical challenges, such as highly faulted areas and small gas accumulation across entire areas, present high operational risks and uncertainty. Oil and gas companies also face drilling and sand control challenges during the development stage.
However, through conducting advanced 3D seismic surveys to acquire comprehensive geological data, adopting new development methods like the Myanmar Minimum Facility Platforms, and applying proven techniques like batch drilling acquired through the company’s experience operating in the Gulf of Thailand, PTTEP has been able to achieve 50 percent cost savings in 3D seismic data acquisition and reduce the time and cost needed for production processes like drilling and sand control completion by up to 80 percent and 40 percent respectively.
As an operator in five exploration, development and production projects across the Gulf of Mottama, and a joint venture partner in the Yadana and Yetagun production projects, PTTEP is set to be the most active oil and gas exploration and production company for the next five years. First entering the country in 1989, PTTEP is one of the longest investor and partner in Myanmar’s Oil and Gas industry.
“Myanmar is PTTEP’s first overseas venture in Southeast Asia. We are committed to providing reliable energy supply and sustainable value to our host country, and will continue to invest in the local workforce and in technology to expedite our exploration and production activities in Myanmar,” Mr. Piya said. “We look forward to expanding our business beyond upstream exploration and production to mid- and downstream activities in the near future.”
OTC Asia 2018 is one of Asia’s key offshore energy events, bringing together international professionals to meet, share knowledge and discuss cutting-edge technologies specifically relating to the Asian offshore industry. The 2018 event was attended by more than 25,000 energy professionals from 80 countries.
PTTEP International Limited (PTTEPI) is an operator in Myanmar. It is a subsidiary company of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), which is a Thai petroleum exploration and production company dedicated to providing a sustainable petroleum supply to the countries it operates in. A top-ten publicly-listed company in the Stock Exchange of Thailand, PTTEP operates exploration and production projects around the world and has a workforce of 4,000.