U.S. energy giant Chevron and France's TotalEnergies announced Friday that they will abandon their activities in Burma because of the situation in the country following the coup.
"In light of the circumstances in Burma, we have reviewed our interest in the Yadana natural gas project to allow for a planned and orderly transition leading to an exit from the country," Chevron spokesman Cameron Van Ast said in a statement.
TotalEnergies will also pull out of its Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, which supplies electricity to the Burmese and Thai population and produces about six billion cubic meters of gas a year.
"The deteriorating human rights and rule of law situation in Burma since the February 2021 coup has led us to reassess the situation and no longer allows TotalEnergies to make a sufficiently positive contribution in the country," the group said in a statement.
Chevron subsidiary Unocal Myanmar Offshore Co. has been present in Burma since the early 1990s. It has a minority stake in the Yadana project.
According to Human Rights Watch, natural gas projects are Burma's largest foreign exchange earner, generating more than $1 billion a year.
More than 1,400 civilians have been killed as the military suppresses dissent after a coup last year ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a local watchdog group.
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