Unocal, Total Extend Ties With Myanmar

Oil companies Unocal of El Segundo and Total of France have extended ties with Myanmar despite increasing pressure from human rights activists protesting the military rulers. The two companies said they have joined Myanmar’s state-owned Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise in a production-sharing contract to explore an area in the Andaman Sea known as Block M8. Several multinational corporations, in particular oil companies, have come under increasing pressure from human rights activists to withdraw from ventures in the military-controlled country. The Yangon government has been criticized for suppressing the democratic movement led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Unocal and Total’s major interest in Myanmar is the $1.2-billion Yadana gas project, also in the Andaman Sea, which it shares with partners MOGE and Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production.