Woodside advises that the Shwe Yee Htun-1 exploration well in Block A-6 in the Rakhine Basin, located in the western offshore area of Myanmar, has intersected a gross gas column of approximately 129 m. Approximately 15 m of net gas pay is interpreted within the primary target interval.
The well reached the planned original total depth (TD) of 4810 m, referenced from the rig rotary table. Following drilling, wireline logging was conducted and confirmed the presence of a gas column through pressure measurements and gas sampling. The well was subsequently deepened to a final TD of 5306 m.
The well was spudded on 27 November, reached its original target on 23 December and wireline logging concluded on 29 December.
Shwe Yee Htun-1, in Block A-6, targeted one of many identified channel complexes that run over a large anticlinal feature, the Saung Anticline. (Courtesy of OilVoice)
January 5, 2016
Myanmar authorities ban mosque’s jubilee celebrations
YANGON, (AA): Authorities have banned a mosque on the outskirts of commercial capital Yangon from celebrating its platinum jubilee on Monday, following complaints from the country’s firebrand nationalist monk Wirathu.
A caretaker at the mosque told Anadolu Agency by phone that Muslim followers had planned to celebration the Sunni Jameh Mosque’s 75th birthday on the Jan. 4 anniversary of the country’s Independence Day.
However, local authorities denied permission Sunday.
“We planned the celebration on Independence Day so many people can join the event because it is a holiday,” said the caretaker, who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal.
“However local authorities replied that we can’t have a celebration tomorrow. They said any other celebration, especially a religious ceremony at a mosque, should not happen on Independence Day.”
Anadolu Agency was unable to reach the local authority for comment as Monday is a national holiday. (Courtesy of The Muslim News)
A caretaker at the mosque told Anadolu Agency by phone that Muslim followers had planned to celebration the Sunni Jameh Mosque’s 75th birthday on the Jan. 4 anniversary of the country’s Independence Day.
However, local authorities denied permission Sunday.
“We planned the celebration on Independence Day so many people can join the event because it is a holiday,” said the caretaker, who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal.
“However local authorities replied that we can’t have a celebration tomorrow. They said any other celebration, especially a religious ceremony at a mosque, should not happen on Independence Day.”
Anadolu Agency was unable to reach the local authority for comment as Monday is a national holiday. (Courtesy of The Muslim News)
More than 1.4 million Yaba seized in Buthidaung
Buthidaung township administration office, Drug Enforcement Agency and custom had seized more than 1.04 million Yaba tablets from a Rakhine woman who was coming with Akyab bound boat – Aung Thu Hinn – to Buthidaung on December 31, 2015, said an officer from Buthidaung who denied to be name.
The team searched the boat with information that a Rakhine woman was carrying Yaba tablets with Aung Thu Hinn boat, found huge amount of Yaba with her. The team again search a store (godown) in Dah Ywa, block number 1, Maungdaw, after investigated the Rakhine woman. The team also seized 0.3666 million yaba. The store was belong to Saw waie, according to officer.
The team total seized 1.466 million yaba tablets in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, the officer more added.
The Rakhine woman was the wife of San Win , who is the brother of Nyo Htun- the number 4 block admin officer, Maungdaw. Nyo Htun is now staying in Yangon and San win is staying in Akyab (sittwe) and San win’s wife is carrying Yaba from Akyab via Buthidaung to Maungdaw. In Maungdaw, Htun Myint Naing son of Wae Tha Maung, control all the Yaba and distributed to Bangladesh through their agent, said a drug peddler from Maungdaw, who denied to be named. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
The team searched the boat with information that a Rakhine woman was carrying Yaba tablets with Aung Thu Hinn boat, found huge amount of Yaba with her. The team again search a store (godown) in Dah Ywa, block number 1, Maungdaw, after investigated the Rakhine woman. The team also seized 0.3666 million yaba. The store was belong to Saw waie, according to officer.
The team total seized 1.466 million yaba tablets in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, the officer more added.
The Rakhine woman was the wife of San Win , who is the brother of Nyo Htun- the number 4 block admin officer, Maungdaw. Nyo Htun is now staying in Yangon and San win is staying in Akyab (sittwe) and San win’s wife is carrying Yaba from Akyab via Buthidaung to Maungdaw. In Maungdaw, Htun Myint Naing son of Wae Tha Maung, control all the Yaba and distributed to Bangladesh through their agent, said a drug peddler from Maungdaw, who denied to be named. (Courtesy of Rohingya Vision TV)
Myanmar's Suu Kyi says peace process will be government's priority
YANGON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday the country's peace process will be the first priority of her new government that will take power later this year, following a landslide victory in a November election.
The country has struggled for decades to reach lasting peace agreements with a multitude of ethnic minority guerrilla groups that have fought against the government for greater autonomy and recognition.
The government signed a ceasefire in October, but the deal fell short of its nationwide billing, with seven of 15 groups invited declining to sign, including some of the most powerful.
Fighting has since flared in eastern parts of the country between the military, non-signatories and groups that did not take part in the negotiations. (Courtesy of trust.org)
The country has struggled for decades to reach lasting peace agreements with a multitude of ethnic minority guerrilla groups that have fought against the government for greater autonomy and recognition.
The government signed a ceasefire in October, but the deal fell short of its nationwide billing, with seven of 15 groups invited declining to sign, including some of the most powerful.
Fighting has since flared in eastern parts of the country between the military, non-signatories and groups that did not take part in the negotiations. (Courtesy of trust.org)
A Yen for Myanmar
Myanmar’s appeal as an investment destination took on a new shine after the peaceful November 8 elections resulted in a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy. Some experts predict that after the new government takes office on April 1, foreign investment will surge as new opportunities are sought in one of the world’s last frontier markets. Japan Inc. is well prepared to lead the investment invasion.
In 2013, Myanmar Investment Commission secretary U Aung Naing Oo told a panel discussion at the first World Economic Forum held in the country that Japanese businessmen were coming “like tsunami waves”. The first wave of Japanese businessmen hit in 2012–2013, when they flooded into Myanmar seeking investment opportunities. That wave came and retreated without leaving much in its wake.
MIC figures to the end of October show it has approved 79 Japanese projects worth US$574.7 million, only 0.99 percent of the $58.034 billion invested since late 1988.
An MIC list ranks Japan 11th among the 41 countries or territories investing in Myanmar, after China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Britain, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, India and Vietnam, in that order. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
In 2013, Myanmar Investment Commission secretary U Aung Naing Oo told a panel discussion at the first World Economic Forum held in the country that Japanese businessmen were coming “like tsunami waves”. The first wave of Japanese businessmen hit in 2012–2013, when they flooded into Myanmar seeking investment opportunities. That wave came and retreated without leaving much in its wake.
MIC figures to the end of October show it has approved 79 Japanese projects worth US$574.7 million, only 0.99 percent of the $58.034 billion invested since late 1988.
An MIC list ranks Japan 11th among the 41 countries or territories investing in Myanmar, after China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Britain, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, India and Vietnam, in that order. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
New Myanmar govt faces pressure on Chinese infrastructure projects
The incoming administration must introduce better accountability mechanisms and international standards for projects undertaken by Chinese companies, according to observers.
YANGON: One of the key issues for Myanmar's incoming new government will be how it deals with some unpopular Chinese infrastructure projects in the country.
One of the most controversial construction developments in Myanmar is the Myitsone Dam project in the country's troubled northern state of Kachin. In 2011, construction on the hydropower dam was halted due to fierce protests by the locals.
The Myitsone Dam project is not the only China-led development that Myanmar citizens are bitterly opposed to. Other projects that have incurred the ire of locals are the Letpadaung Copper Mine and the Myanmar-Yunnan railway connecting Myanmar’s western coast to China. (Courtesy of Channel News Asia)
YANGON: One of the key issues for Myanmar's incoming new government will be how it deals with some unpopular Chinese infrastructure projects in the country.
One of the most controversial construction developments in Myanmar is the Myitsone Dam project in the country's troubled northern state of Kachin. In 2011, construction on the hydropower dam was halted due to fierce protests by the locals.
The Myitsone Dam project is not the only China-led development that Myanmar citizens are bitterly opposed to. Other projects that have incurred the ire of locals are the Letpadaung Copper Mine and the Myanmar-Yunnan railway connecting Myanmar’s western coast to China. (Courtesy of Channel News Asia)
Seven nabbed for fatal beating of Myanmar man
Seven young men who allegedly beat a Myanmar man to death on Saturday were arrested in Chiang Mai yesterday. The suspects were identified as Teoy, 20; Jom, 19; Wit, 17; Pop, 18; Dul, 17; and Chai, 18, as well as Sayan Chanthip, 22, a Chiang Mai resident.
They were brought before the media at Chiang Mai provincial police headquarters yesterday.
Earlier, Pol Lt Col Sanan Chanthabut, an investigator at Chang Puak station, was alerted to the death of a 21-year-old ethnic Tai Yai man, Prae, from Myanmar, whose severely bruised body was found on the 2nd Outer Ring Road near Chiang Mai Provincial Government Centre in tambon Chang Puek in Muang district on Saturday. (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: News)
They were brought before the media at Chiang Mai provincial police headquarters yesterday.
Earlier, Pol Lt Col Sanan Chanthabut, an investigator at Chang Puak station, was alerted to the death of a 21-year-old ethnic Tai Yai man, Prae, from Myanmar, whose severely bruised body was found on the 2nd Outer Ring Road near Chiang Mai Provincial Government Centre in tambon Chang Puek in Muang district on Saturday. (Courtesy of Bangkok Post: News)
Yoma gets lease extension for landmark hotel project in Myanmar
YOMA Strategic Holdings has extended until 2048 the lease for its landmark hotel project at the former headquarters of the Myanmar Railway Company.
The conglomerate said on Monday that it has signed a framework agreement with Myanmar's Ministry of Rail Transport to extend the master lease for an initial period of 50 years from January 1998. For a 0.5-acre area of the site, this will be dependent on the approval of the Myanmar Investment Commission.
Under the agreement with the rail ministry, the leases for the project, which is currently split into two sites, will be redrawn into two separate master lease agreements for the proposed hotel development and proposed mixed-use development respectively.
With this, Yoma and Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels have also agreed to extend the long stop date under the existing shareholders agreement to June 30 this year. (Courtesy of The Business Times)
The conglomerate said on Monday that it has signed a framework agreement with Myanmar's Ministry of Rail Transport to extend the master lease for an initial period of 50 years from January 1998. For a 0.5-acre area of the site, this will be dependent on the approval of the Myanmar Investment Commission.
Under the agreement with the rail ministry, the leases for the project, which is currently split into two sites, will be redrawn into two separate master lease agreements for the proposed hotel development and proposed mixed-use development respectively.
With this, Yoma and Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels have also agreed to extend the long stop date under the existing shareholders agreement to June 30 this year. (Courtesy of The Business Times)
SNLD condemns KIA forced recruitment
The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) has condemned the Kachin Independence Army’s detention of civilians for recruitment, demanding their release.
Civilians from Kutkai and Muse in northern Shan State were forced into joining the KIA.
“Now is a moment all of us are trying to prioritise national reconciliation. It is a politically delicate situation as power is transferred. Parties are making great efforts to hold political talks based on the nationwide ceasefire and the principles of eternal peace. It is important that people can enjoy a period of peace and tranquillity,” the statement said. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
Civilians from Kutkai and Muse in northern Shan State were forced into joining the KIA.
“Now is a moment all of us are trying to prioritise national reconciliation. It is a politically delicate situation as power is transferred. Parties are making great efforts to hold political talks based on the nationwide ceasefire and the principles of eternal peace. It is important that people can enjoy a period of peace and tranquillity,” the statement said. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
Suu Kyi's silence and Myanmar's future
In the early months of 1942, as British Burma fell to the Japanese, an indigenous entity, the Burmese Independence Army (BIA), became the effective government of the Crown colony.
The Japanese soon found themselves powerless against the BIA, which drew its authority from a close link between its army and the long-neglected villages of Burma.
When the British returned, they were unable to assert control for the same reason. Thus, when an independent Burma emerged in 1948, its military, the Tatmadaw, unsurprisingly assumed a dominant role. Its relationship with the countryside cemented that position for over six decades.
But then, last November, everything changed. (Courtesy of The Straits Times)
The Japanese soon found themselves powerless against the BIA, which drew its authority from a close link between its army and the long-neglected villages of Burma.
When the British returned, they were unable to assert control for the same reason. Thus, when an independent Burma emerged in 1948, its military, the Tatmadaw, unsurprisingly assumed a dominant role. Its relationship with the countryside cemented that position for over six decades.
But then, last November, everything changed. (Courtesy of The Straits Times)
What to expect in Southeast Asia in 2016
2016 will be an interesting year for Southeast Asia, as the region braces for changes in government (or none at all), implements the ASEAN economy community, and prepares for volatility with the rising tension of the South China Sea and the increasing risk of terrorist attacks.
Myanmar NLD needs to balance the interests of old elites and live up to public expectation.
It is well known that Myanmar’s historic election has secured Aung San Suu Kyi as the NLD popular mandate and she is expected to lead the next administration. The military remains the most powerful actor in the country and holds key posts of the security ministries and still exercises significant control over the economy.
The public voted the NLD into office with the high hope that NLD would bring changes to their lives. But the NLD has not had any administration experience and the new government is left with a series of issues such as ethnic tensions, the Rohingya refugee crisis, and macroeconomic issues. Challenges face the NLD and stability in Myanmar will depend on how well the new government is able to balance the interests of the old elites and the military.
Risk of election-related violence ahead of the Philippines general election and uncertainty of the new administration’s economic policies will persist until the poll date.
The Philippines presidential election is set for May 2016. As Filipinos prepare for the next general election, political violence remains a possibility leading up to the poll date. The Gun ban will start on 10 January 2016 to reduce election-related violence, but political violence remains a risk. (Courtesy of globalriskinsights.com)
Myanmar NLD needs to balance the interests of old elites and live up to public expectation.
It is well known that Myanmar’s historic election has secured Aung San Suu Kyi as the NLD popular mandate and she is expected to lead the next administration. The military remains the most powerful actor in the country and holds key posts of the security ministries and still exercises significant control over the economy.
The public voted the NLD into office with the high hope that NLD would bring changes to their lives. But the NLD has not had any administration experience and the new government is left with a series of issues such as ethnic tensions, the Rohingya refugee crisis, and macroeconomic issues. Challenges face the NLD and stability in Myanmar will depend on how well the new government is able to balance the interests of the old elites and the military.
Risk of election-related violence ahead of the Philippines general election and uncertainty of the new administration’s economic policies will persist until the poll date.
The Philippines presidential election is set for May 2016. As Filipinos prepare for the next general election, political violence remains a possibility leading up to the poll date. The Gun ban will start on 10 January 2016 to reduce election-related violence, but political violence remains a risk. (Courtesy of globalriskinsights.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)