Nay Pyi Taw, 11 December 2018: ‘The Government of Myanmar should continue to play a pivotal role in developing the natural gas market through policy support to promote the use of natural gas,’ said Prof Hidetoshi Nishimura, the President of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in his opening remarks for the launching ceremony of the Natural Gas Master Plan for Myanmar.

The event was held in The Thingaha Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw on 11 December 2018 in cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy of Myanmar and the Institute of Energy Economics Japan. The publication will be available for free on ERIA’s website in January 2019.

Across the region, ERIA has supported the research and capacity building on energy sector in other countries such as Cambodia and Lao PDR. ERIA worked with the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Cambodia to develop and publish Cambodia National Energy Statistics in 2016, and ERIA cooperated with the Lao PDR Ministry of Energy and Mines to produce Lao PDR National Energy Statistics, published in July 2018.

Over the years, ERIA has been working on various research projects together with the Government of Myanmar. During Myanmar’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2014, ERIA published ASEAN Rising, a comprehensive research publication on the ASEAN Economic Community and its future, as part of the deliverables of the Chairmanship. In the next year, ERIA developed and published the Myanmar Comprehensive Development Vision, a comprehensive industrial and infrastructure development vision for the country.  

‘Today, we also mark another historic achievement – the cooperation between ERIA and the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, Myanmar, with the publication of the first comprehensive Natural Gas Master Plan,’ said Prof Nishimura, adding that ‘Myanmar’s natural gas will play a very important role in Myanmar’s future. Although Myanmar has been a major producer of natural gas in Asia, the country has not fully utilised natural gas for its own uses.’

Meanwhile, in his welcoming remarks, H. E. U Win Khaing, Union Minister, Ministry of Electricity and Energy of Myanmar conveyed his hope that the Master Plan can be a ‘support and inspiration to the energy sector of Myanmar.’

The leader of the research project, Mr Yoshikazu Kobayashi from the Institute of Energy Economics Japan, presented a summary of the research findings. Mr Kobayashi shared five recommendations from the Master Plan, namely enhancing the role & capacity of government; encouraging & accelerating domestic upstream development; improving resilience of pipeline network; reforming energy pricing system; and growing human capital to utilise LNG.

In closing, U Zaw Aung, Director General of Oil and Gas Planning Department of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, Myanmar, expressed his hope that ERIA and the Institute of Energy Economics Japan would continue working together with the Government in the next phase of the Master Plan.