After civil war triggered gas shortages, Myanmar now ready to import liquefied natural gas again

Myanmar is expected to resume liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports next year after taking delivery of half a cargo last month, ending a more than four-year hiatus in shipments of the super-chilled fuel, data and analytics firm Kpler said.

This would mark the Southeast Asian nation's return to the LNG import market, after shipments were halted amid the civil war. Since then, Myanmar has faced gas shortages and widespread power outages.

Kpler expects Myanmar to import 0.4 million tons of LNG in 2026, with two restarted or upgraded LNG-to-power projects ramping up to a combined 500 megawatts (MW), said analyst Nelson Xiong, referring to the 200-MW Thanlyin power plant and the 300-MW Thaketa power plant.

According to Kpler data, the Dapeng Princess tanker had picked up the LNG from the Bintulu LNG plant in East Malaysia on November 12, before delivering it to the Thilawa FSU in the south of Myanmar.

"Kpler data shows the Thilawa floating storage unit (FSU), CNTIC VPower Energy, arrived in Yangon and berthed on November 16, while the Dapeng Princess discharged half a cargo on November 23, likely to fuel generator test runs," Xiong said.

Myanmar's information ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

Myanmar had first started importing LNG in June 2020 with Malaysia's Petronas delivering its first cargo to CNTIC VPower, a joint venture of Chinese state-owned engineering, procurement and construction firm China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) and Hong Kong-based power distributor VPower Group.

But the Southeast Asian nation halted imports just over a year later after a military coup, receiving a total of 550,000 metric tons of LNG since beginning imports. Prior to last month's shipment, it last received an LNG cargo in August 2021, according to Kpler data.

The country's receiving terminal situated by the Yangon River comprises an FSU and an onshore regasification unit. CNTIC and VPower Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

-Emily Chow/Reuters