Woodside takes $209 million hit as it exits Myanmar

Australian energy major Woodside on Thursday became the latest company to join a bevy of multinationals withdrawing from their interests in Myanmar, following last year’s military coup and the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

Nearly nine years after it launched its operations in Myanmar, Woodside said in a statement on Thursday that it will commence arrangements to formally exit Blocks AD-1 and AD-8, the A-6 Joint Venture and the A-6 production sharing contract (PSC) held with the state-owned oil and gas enterprise Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

One of the largest holders of offshore exploration acreage in Myanmar, Woodside will take a US $138 million charge in its 2021 profits to cover its withdrawal and will also expense $71 million in exploration and evaluation costs for work carried out in Block AD-7. The total cost of Woodside's withdrawal is thus estimated at $209 million.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said in a statement that while the company had hoped to develop the A-6 gas resources with its joint venture participants and deliver much-needed energy to the Myanmar people, there was no longer a viable option for Woodside to continue its activities.

Last week, Woodside revealed it had terminated the PSC with MOGE in November. That announcement came around the same time as a multitude of energy giants such as TotalEnergies, Shell and Chevron said they had withdrawn from all their oil and gas interests in Myanmar.