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Total has announced the suspension of dividend payments for the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC), which is a source of financing for Myanmar’s military junta and accounts for a small fraction of total payments from the Yadana project. Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) owns 15% of the pipeline company. Justice For Myanmar notes that this decision does not stop the vast majority of payments to the junta facilitated by Total, which include the state’s share of gas revenue, royalties and cost recovery from the Yadana gas field operation and corporate income tax from MGTC. According to projections published by the Ministry of Planning and Finance, the Myanmar state earns around US$1.5 billion annually from all offshore oil and gas projects. MGTC’s suspension of dividends accounts for a tiny proportion of that. Justice For Myanmar reitarates calls for the immediate sanctioning of MOGE.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: "We cautiously welcome Total and Chevron’s decision to suspend payment of dividends by the Moattama Gas Transportation Company, which should curb one source of revenue for the brutal and illegal junta in Myanmar. But we note that this is only a minor portion of the revenue that the junta is receiving from Total’s operations in Myanmar, which also includes the state’s share of gas revenues, royalties and corporate income taxes. Total and Chevron have made the right choice by finally acknowledging that MOGE is under the control of the military and finances the junta’s crimes. They and all other international oil companies in Myanmar must now accept that the same logic applies to all gas revenue payments and act decisively to stop these payments reaching the junta. Total and Chevron have made enormous profits in Myanmar in the past while simultaneously bolstering brutal military regimes. This must stop."
Note to editors
See Total’s statement on MGTC’s suspension of dividends here: https://www.total.com/media/news/press-releases/Myanmar-MGTC-Shareholders-suspend-all-cash-distributions
See Justice For Myanmar’s web features, Is Total profiteering in Myanmar? here: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/total-profiteering
See Justice For Myanmar’s web features, How oil and gas majors bankroll the military regime here: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/how-oil-and-gas-majors-bankroll-the-myanmar-military-regime
Justice For Myanmar, a group of covert activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar, is calling for an end to military business and for federal democracy and a sustainable peace.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Yadanar Maung
Email: media@justiceformyanmar.org
Website: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/
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