KUALA LUMPUR (April 2): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has declared force majeure on its Yetagun field located offshore Myanmar due to depleted gas production.

Force majeure refers to unforseeable circumstances that prevent a party from fulfilling its obligations under a contract.

The declaration was made on April 1 by its subsidiary PC Myanmar (Hong Kong) Ltd (PCML), Petronas said in a statement today.

CML has temporarily ceased production at the field, located in Blocks M12, M13 and M14, until further notice, it said.

The decision was made following challenges in the wells deliverability that resulted in the production rate dropping below the technical threshold of the offshore gas processing plant, it added.

PCML country head Liau Min Hoe said: "Prior to the cessation of production, Yetagun field was producing well below the technical turndown rate of its facilities.”  

“There has been a drastic decline in production level due to subsurface challenges in the field since January 2021, and it has further deteriorated recently," he said.

“Continuing to produce at a low rate would impose significant risks to the integrity of our assets and the safety of our people. As a responsible operator, we had to temporarily cease production and declare force majeure.

“We have put in place an intervention plan to mitigate the matter, and have informed the host authority, our partners and gas buyer of our decision,” Liau added.

However, PCML remains committed to its project in Yetagun and is taking all necessary measures to resume production as soon as possible, said Petronas.

PCML has been the operator of the Yetagun Gas Project since 2003, and holds a 40.9% participating interest together with its affiliate. The other parties comprise Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (20.5%), Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar) Ltd (19.3%) and PTTEP International Ltd holds (19.3%).