Joint Statement by 14 Advocacy Organisations in Europe
As the Burmese military brings its own jet fuel refinery onstream, 14 advocacy organisations in Europe today called on the European Union to urgently close a sanctions loophole that enables European companies to continue working on oil and gas projects in Burma/Myanmar.
Last week Min Aung Hlaing, head of the Burmese military regime, formally opened the Thanlyin Refinery in Burma, which has the capacity to refine jet fuel. The potential for easier access to jet fuel by the Burmese military is deeply alarming in the context of their conducting airstrikes deliberately targeting civilians, schools, hospitals and religious sites.
In 2022 the European Union sanctioned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the state-owned and Burmese military-controlled entity responsible for exploiting oil and gas reserves in Burma. It did so because of the role that revenue plays in financing the Burmese military and the human rights violations it commits. However, by only sanctioning MOGE, rather than the entire oil and gas extraction industry, it has left open a loophole enabling European companies to continue working in Burma’s gas sector, if they are not directly contracted by MOGE.
SED Energy is a Cypriot registered oil and gas services company, listed on a Norwegian stock exchange, which is working on the Zawtika gas field in Burma. It is contracted by PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), Thailand’s gas exploration company and one of the biggest funders of the Burmese military.
Reports indicate that the Thanlyin refinery will be supplied by the Zawtika gas field, meaning that a European company is not only playing a critical role in the operations of a gas field providing significant revenue to the Burmese military, but also working on a gas field which is potentially supplying the fuel that will be used by the Burmese military for airstrikes against civilians, in violation of international law.
On 29 October it will be two years since the European Union brought in any new sanctions against the Burmese military. The European Union has given the Burmese military a breathing space during which it has dramatically escalated airstrikes and thousands more people have been killed.
The European Union must now close the gas revenue sanctions loophole that enables European companies to continue working in Burma’s gas sector. In addition to SED Energy, it is likely that European companies are also involved in other aspects of Burma’s gas sectors, such as insurance and reinsurance.
The European Union must also resume its policy of systematically sanctioning sources of revenue, arms and equipment to the Burmese military on an ongoing basis.
The European Union must renew EU sanctions every April. When discussions on the next renewal begin, it should include consideration on how the focus of sanctions should expand to include intermediaries, financial enablers and cross-regional sanctions-evasion ecosystems, while maintaining strict safeguards to protect civilians, humanitarian action and migrant remittances.
Burma Action Ireland
Burma Campaign UK
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
Educational Initiatives Prague
European Karen Network
Fortify Rights
German Solidarity with Myanmar e.V.
Info Birmanie
ITALIA-BIRMANIA.INSIEME
Karen Worldwide Advocacy Network
Myanmar Action Group Denmark
Myanmar (CRPH) Support Group, Norway
Swedish Burma Committee