Scottish Companies Travel to Myanmar to Look for Investment Opportunities in Oil, Gas Sector

A delegation of Scottish companies will visit Myanmar this week to identify investment and collaboration opportunities in oil and gas space.

Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Scotland's main economic development agency, and Chair of Scotland’s Energy Jobs Taskforce, is leading the delegation. Among the companies visiting are Scotland’s largest including global temporary power company Aggreko, as well as North East oil and gas firms Wood Group, ASCO and Bibby Offshore.

The delegation will meet with the Myanmar’s new Minister for Energy and Electricity, Pe Zin Tun, as well as leading local and international oil and gas companies already active in Myanmar to explore key opportunities in the local supply chain.

“Myanmar now stands at exciting phase of its own oil and gas development – much like Aberdeen did in the 1970s - with huge natural resources to capitalise on but to grow its local industry, it will need access to technology, skills and expertise across the whole supply chain from seismic surveying and engineering design right through to project management, health and safety and training and education,” Wilson said. “These are all core strengths of Scotland’s oil and gas industry built up through 50 years of experience of working in the North Sea. We have a real opportunity now to show how Scotland can help support Myanmar to build the capacity it needs while at the same time providing much needed international opportunities for our own industry.”

Myanmar, which has vast underdeveloped oil and gas reserves in deep waters similar to that of the North Sea, has been hailed as Asia’s final frontier after recently opening its doors to international trade and investment following decades of military rule. The Southeast Asian nation is to develop its own indigenous oil and gas industry.