More natural gas has been found at a new block in Myanmar's Mottama offshore area after one of the test wells there was drilled by the PTTEP of Thailand with the cooperation of Myanmar, official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday.

The gas deposit, found at Zawtika-1 (A) test well in block M-9 is estimated to hold 2.5 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 70.79 billion cubic-meters (BCM) and the whole block above 8 TCF, the report said.

The report added that the government will reserve proportionate share from the profit and will make an investment as a shareholder.

The PTTEP has already been engaged in five gas projects in Myanmar mainly in the Mottama offshore areas, including those at blocks M-7, M-9, M-3, M-4 and M-11 and imports about one billion cubic feet of gas per day from the country.

Meanwhile, the Thai company has been reportedly negotiating with Myanmar to buy more natural gas from the country's Yetagun field off southern Tanintharyi coast.

Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 TCF or 510 billion cubic-meters (BCM) out of 89.722 TCF or 2.54 trillion cubic-meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said.

The country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve, official statistics indicate.

The Myanmar figures also show that in the fiscal year 2005-06 which ended in March, the country produced 7.962 million barrels of crude oil and 11.45 BCM of gas. Gas export during the year went to 9.138 BCM, earning over 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Available statistics reveal that such investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector had reached 2.635 billion dollars as of March, the end of the fiscal year 2005-06, since the country opened to foreign investment in late 1988, dominating the country's foreign investment sectorally.

Source: Xinhua