In Myanmar, fuel is now as cheap as water. As global oil and gas values plummet, the price of petrol reached record lows this week, dropping to around MMK 300 per liter for 92 octane fuel, which, Myanmar Times pointed out, is roughly the same as a small bottle of purified water.
“Sales at petrol stations have fallen and we are incurring many losses,” an anonymous industry insider told The Myanmar Times. “Moving forward, we might show negative growth. Nobody makes profits during this time. Most are incurring losses.”
Fuel prices are dropping throughout the world. This week the price of WTI crude oil has fluctuated between USD 12 and USD 16 per barrel as global lockdown measures have stalled industry and kept vehicles off the road. It remains to be seen how this energy crash will affect Myanmar’s economic future. Lower prices windfall for a country that imports most of its oil and gas. The country bought USD 3 billion of foreign energy products in the previous fiscal year as it scrambled to meet its short term energy needs. However, Myanmar has been positioning itself as an exporter of fossil fuels, developing its offshore gas blocs as well as the China-Myanmar Oil and Gas Pipeline, through which 10.8 million tonnes of oil were transported to China in 2019.
Thai oil and gas firm PTTEP, whose Zawtika natural gas development sends 245 cubic feet of natural gas to Thailand each year, announced that the market downturn will not affect its operations in Myanmar. “World oil prices have fallen 60 pc since March due to COVID-19, but this will have no significant impact on targeted PTTEP sales for this year,” PTTP general manager Piya Sukhumpanumet told the Myanmar Times.
