Daewoo International extends gas exploration in Myanmar

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Daewoo International Corp. said Friday that it has
decided to extend the exploration of a gas block off Myanmar until August due to
the country's maritime border dispute with Bangladesh.
Under a deal with the Myanmar government, the South Korean trading company has
been tapping the gas block off the west coast of the Southeast Asian country
since March 2007. The project was scheduled for completion at the end of
February.
"The extension results from the unsettled dispute over the maritime border
between Bangladesh and Myanmar," said an official at Daewoo International, who
declined to be identified.
The AD-7 gas block is located in the Bay of Bengal between Myanmar and
Bangladesh, which have been at odds about the demarcation of their maritime
border for several years.
Daewoo International formed a consortium to develop the gas block with the aim of
reducing costs and securing a market, the official said.
The consortium consists of Daewoo International, the state-run Korea Gas Corp.
(KOGAS), and two state-run Indian companies -- Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corp.
(ONGC) and GAIL (India) Ltd.
Daewoo International held a 60 percent stake in the consortium, followed by ONGC
with 20 percent, GAIL with 10 percent and KOGAS with 10 percent.
Daewoo International said, however, that it acquired the entire stake in the
consortium as other members decided to opt out due to the border dispute.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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