Oil and gas pipelines

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: Link to an area of the OBL Environment section
Source/publisher: Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of entry/update: 2014-10-20
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "... In debates about economic globalisation, the case for leading corporations to engage with some of the world?s most desperate development challenges is increasingly heard. In just the last few years, the World Bank and Mandle have shown that economic globalisation can operate to the benefit of the poor, Bhagwati and Wolf have issued powerful defences of globalisation, and Friedman has urged individuals, corporations and governments to seize the opportunities present in the increasingly "flat" world in which we live.2 From the peak of the international political system, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has endorsed all these arguments by holding that it is "the absence of broad-based business activity, not its presence, that condemns much of humanity to suffering."3 To stimulate action, he sponsored the UN Global Compact, dedicated to promoting responsible corporate citizenship throughout the world, and appointed its principal author, Kennedy School Professor John Ruggie, to the position of Special Representative on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. However, despite all the mood music lauding the contribution business can make to development, it remains an open question whether corporate engagement, and in particular inward investment, should take place in extreme contexts. On the one hand, foreign capitalist involvement in some industries, notably resource extraction, has long been seen as highly exploitative. For decades, neo-Marxist critiques of capitalist underdevelopment held sway, stressing the extent of local state dependence on foreign capitalist interests, and the catastrophic impact of corporate engagement on local economic, social and political evolution.4 Notions of captured, rentier states mired in corruption and committed to systematic exploitation of Third World populations were commonly encountered. Few other than baleful local effects, generated by unprincipled involvement on the part of foreign corporations, were recorded. Today, criticism of this kind continues to be heard in, for example, responses to the World Bank?s Extractive Industries Review, released in December 2003, which itself reached rather equivocal conclusions.5 Under the influence of more recent analyses of economic globalisation and its effects, should such activity now be encouraged? As economies are opened to the forces of global capitalism, is resource extraction to be placed alongside other corporate activity as positive and constructive in its contribution to pro-poor policies? On the other hand, all forms of corporate engagement with regimes that commit gross human rights violations are widely viewed as thoroughly unprincipled. For many years now, the sanctions lobby has trained a moral spotlight on inward investment in countries dominated by violator regimes. While the condemnation, and the resultant corporate pullouts, have always been highly selective, picking up on, say, Myanmar in the Asian context but making little comment on China, they have been no less powerful for that. Indeed, informal sanctions, targeting brands and corporations with a great deal to lose from negative publicity, have often been much more potent than formal government sanctions applied by the US and some of its allies.6 Again, under the influence of the latest writings on economic globalisation, should this activity also now be endorsed? Even in the most unpromising domains, can profits and principles be secured in tandem?7 This article tackles these issues by focusing on one very specific development context: Myanmar, or the country formerly known as Burma. By almost any definition, this is a difficult environment for poverty reduction.8 It is also one of the most unpromising settings for business activity, ranking last out of the 127 countries included in the Fraser Institute?s Economic Freedom of the World Index for 2003.9 Furthermore, the kinds of extreme circumstance that generate the greatest development challenges are readily found here. Global corporations are engaged in extractive activities that provoke fierce critiques. Reports published over many years by Amnesty International, EarthRights International, Human Rights Watch and other organisations document gross human rights abuse by government-backed forces in virtually all parts of a country of more than 50 million people. Within this context, the article examines one particularly controversial extractive enterprise: the Yadana gas project, in which Western oil companies have long been prime movers. The debate that encircles this project is of course not unique. It is nestled in a broader discourse about corporate engagement with rights violating regimes all over the world, and reflected in specific ethical controversies thathave flared up in recentyears.11 When companies such as Carlsberg, Heineken, Levi Strauss and Reebok pulled out of Myanmar in the early and mid-1990s, they made public the moral concerns that prompted their decisions.12 Equally, some corporations targeted by campaigners have issued ethical justifications for ongoing engagement.13 Similar divisions are visible in other spheres. While the Global Fund made a high-profile withdrawal from Myanmar in August 2005, citing intolerable official interference in its work to combat AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, key internal groups such as the National League for Democracy and the Student Generations Since 1988 now call for humanitarian intervention; and international agencies such as Save the Children USA continue to operate inside the country.14 The Yadana project is special because this single case encapsulates Western corporate involvement in resource extraction in a highly repressive context. It also has the virtue of being very well documented. The article addresses two main questions. First, is the involvement of foreignowned corporations in Myanmar?s Yadana project to be welcomed? Second, with the experience gained from this involvement, can wider lessons about global corporate citizenship be drawn? To generate answers, the first section of the article provides some brief background material on the Yadana project. The second section then examines the cases made by its backers and critics, and evaluates the project from the perspective of its impact on the people of Myanmar. The third section focuses on wider lessons for corporate engagement that flow from the project, and in particular, the conditions in which inward investment in repressive settings is likely to be most constructive and positive in its effects. Applying these conditions to Myanmar, the fourth section considers ways forward for corporate involvement with the country. The article closes with a brief conclusion. The argument is that it is not possible to reach an overall evaluation of the Yadana project. However, some principles of responsible cross-border corporate engagement can be derived from it..."
Creator/author: Ian Holliday
Source/publisher: City University of Hong Kong
2008-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.62 MB
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Description: "... This survey examines the state of disclosure of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Initial Environmental Examinations (IEE) conducted by oil and gas companies in Myanmar who were awarded blocks after 2013. The survey reveals that 11 out of 19 offshore blocks (58%) have disclosed IEEs and 4 out of 15 onshore blocks (26%) have disclosed EIAs. It identifies the companies who have disclosed, and those who have not. It provides links to the IEE/EIA reports, and associated Environmental Management Plans (EMPs). The Executive Summaries of most disclosed IEE/EIA are available in Burmese as well as English, in line with the emerging guidance from MOECAF. The overall level of disclosure in the oil and gas sector is superior to other sectors in Myanmar where the IEE/EIA process has yet to be consistently applied, such as mining and construction. However some oil and gas companies have not disclosed their IEE or EIA reports. These are predominantly those with onshore blocks, who are mostly smaller companies and with fewer public commitments to operating to global standards than the offshore operators. They signed contracts 6-12 months earlier and may have undertaken their EIA/IEE in 2014. The survey does not attempt to comment on the quality of these IEE/EIA. However a quick review and anecdotal evidence suggests that the IEE/EIA reports disclosed by international oil/gas companies, who have used experienced international EIA consultancy firms partnering with Myanmar EIA consultancies, are generally of a higher quality ? and cost - than those seen by MCRB for projects in other sectors in Myanmar. It is hoped that their example will lead to a raising of standards for EIA and disclosure across all sectors. The survey also analyses the challenges faced by companies in complying with the new requirement for IEE/EIA and disclosure, and makes recommendations for how these can be addressed. The issue of pre-existing projects is highlighted, which, under Article 8 of the new EIA Procedures, need to take steps to obtain an Environmental Compliance Certificate. The rationale for undertaking this research assumes that website disclosure, in addition to being a legal requirement under the new EIA procedures, will allow stakeholders to access and read the reports. These stakeholders ? who may include national and regional government officials and parliamentarians, civil society organisations, local communities and the media ? will therefore have the opportunity to study the assessments and engage critically with companies over the contractual commitments included in them, and hold companies to account for their environmental and social performance. However this requires those stakeholders to ?do their homework? and read the IEE/EIA. This survey is therefore also intended to raise awareness of the availability of these assessments; encourage stakeholders to read and engage with the EIA process; and encourage development partners to build their capacity to do so..."
Creator/author: Inna Lazareva, Vicky Bowman
Source/publisher: Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB)
2016-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 710.4 KB
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Description: "Since the Sino-Myanmar natural gas pipeline commenced fuel deliveries in late July 2013, the 793-kilometer energy transportation route has operated well below its total capacity. The underutilization has resulted in an estimated annualized loss of 1.7 billion yuan (US$280 million) and raised pressing questions about the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)-led joint venture?s future commercial viability. Data about the US$1 billion pipeline?s first year of operations have become public in recent months. According to a CNPC report released in July, the pipeline transferred a total of 1.87 billion cubic meters of natural gas to southern China and 60 million cubic meters for local consumption in Myanmar during its first year of deliveries. The 2.47 billion transferred translates to around 20% of the pipeline?s total capacity, which is designed to carry 12 billion cubic meters annually..."
Creator/author: Yun Sun
Source/publisher: Asia Times Online
2014-10-14
Date of entry/update: 2014-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: (Survey in NgaPhe` Township, MinBu District, Magway Division and Thipaw Township, Kyauk Mae District, Northern Shan State) By BadeiDha Moe Civil Society Organization..... Summary: "During the political reform period in Myanmar, most of the critical issues that have arisen around land issues have concerned foreign investment projects. The civilian government, Houses of Parliament, Members of Parliament, political parties, civil society and farmers are all directly involved and troubled by the land grabbing that is taking place in the establishment of foreign investment projects. Among these projects, the Myanmar– China pipelines project is having the most effects on the largest number of local people in Myanmar simply because of its size: it crosses the entire length of the country from Rakhine State to Yunnan Province through heavily populated and fertile agricultural areas. Because of its length, it affects all types of Myanmar environmental resources such as cultivated land, virgin land, river, stream, forest and mountains, which are all vital to Myanmar?s rich biodiversity. This one project has the potential to impact negatively on the environment, livelihoods, culture and social life of a large part of the country. Local ethnic nationality groups have been concerned about unfair compensation without the proper regard given to the environment and social impact. State development should start with the involvement of people in each region. It is especially difficult for a government to start development projects when there is political instability, and the impact of this project is an impediment to the on-going peace process. Our team surveyed "public opinion?? on foreign investments, so-called development projects. Local people voluntarily participated in the research in NgaPhe` Township, Upper Myanmar and Thipaw (Hsipaw) Township, Northern Shan State. The survey used participatory action research methods, in which local people could learn how to define their issues, cooperate with each other and with civil society organisations, collect data on their situation and understand their rights with respect to government and private company projects. In summary, our report intends to expose the cases of injustice uncovered through our research to the public, members of parliaments, and civil society"
Source/publisher: BadeiDha Moe Civil Society Organization
2014-03-25
Date of entry/update: 2014-05-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.09 MB 2.34 MB
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Description: "Shwe Pipeline Brings Land Confiscation, Militarization and Human Rights Violations to the Ta?ang People. The Ta?ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO) released a report today called ?Pipeline Nightmare” that illustrates how the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, which will transport oil and gas across Burma to China, has resulted in the confiscation of people?s lands, forced labor, and increased military presence along the pipeline, affecting thousands of people. Moreover, the report documents cases in 6 target cities and 51 villages of human rights violations committed by the Burmese Army, police and people?s militia, who take responsibility for security of the pipeline. The government has deployed additional soldiers and extended 26 military camps in order to increase pressure on the ethnic armed groups and to provide security for the pipeline project and its Chinese workers. Along the pipeline, there is fighting on a daily basis between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army, Shan State Army ? North and Ta?ang National Liberation Army in Namtu, Mantong and Namkham, where there are over one thousand Ta?ang (Palaung) refugees. ?Even though the international community believes that the government has implemented political reforms, it doesn?t mean those reforms have reached ethnic areas, especially not where there is increased militarization along the Shwe Pipeline, increased fighting between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups, and negative consequences for the people living in these areas,” said Mai Amm Ngeal, a member of TSYO. The China National Petroleum Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise have signed agreements for the Shwe Pipeline, however the companies have not conducted any Environmental Impact Assessments or Social Impact Assessments. While the people living along the pipeline bear the brunt of the effects, the government will earn an estimated USD$29 billion over the next 30 years. ?The government and companies involved must be held accountable for the project and its effects on the local people, such as increasing military presence and Chinese workers along the pipeline, both of which cause insecurity for the local communities and especially women. The project has no benefit for the public, so it must be postponed,” said Lway Phoo Reang, Joint Secretary (1) of TSYO. TSYO urges the government to postpone the Shwe Gas and Oil Pipeline project, to withdraw the military from Shan State, reach a ceasefire with all ethnic armed groups in the state, and address the root causes of the armed conflict by engaging in political dialogue."
Source/publisher: Ta?ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO)
2012-11-07
Date of entry/update: 2012-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 2.03 MB 1.44 MB
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Description: "?Total Denial? catalogues the systematic human rights abuses and environmental degradation perpetrated by SLORC as the regime seeks to consolidate its power base in the gas pipeline region. Further, the report shows that investment in projects such as the Yadana pipeline not only gives tacit approval and support to the repressive SLORC junta but also exacerbates the grave human rights and environmental problems in Burma.... The research indicates that gross human rights violations, including summary executions, torture, forced labor and forced relocations, have occurred as a result of natural gas development projects funded by European and North American corporations. In addition to condemning transnational corporate complicity with the SLORC regime, the report also presents the perspectives of those most directly impacted by the foreign investment who for too long have silently endured the abuses meted out by SLORC for the benefit of its foreign corporate partners." ...Additional keywords: environment, human rights violations.
Source/publisher: EarthRights International (ERI) and Southeast Asian Information Network (SAIN)
1996-07-10
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 310.45 KB
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Description: "Three Western oil companies -- Total, Premier and Unocal -- bent on exploiting natural gas , entered partnerships with the brutal Burmese military regime. Since the early 1990?s, a terrible drama has been unfolding in Burma. Three western oil companies -- Total, Premier, and Unocal -- entered into partnerships with the brutal Burmese miltary regime to build the Yadana and Yetagun natural gas pipelines. The regime created a highly militarized pipelinecorridor in what had previously been a relatively peaceful area, resulting in violent suppression of dissent, environmental destruction, forced labor and portering, forced relocations, torture, rape, and summary executions. EarthRights International co-founder Ka Hsaw Wa and a team of field staff traveled on both sides of the Thai-Burmese border in the Tenasserim region to document the conditions in the pipeline corridor. In the nearly four years since the release of "Total Denial" (1996), the violence and forced labor in the pipeline region have continued unabated. This report builds on the evidence in "Total Denial" and brings to light several new facets of the tragedy in the Tenasserim region. Keywords:, human rights, environment, forced relocation, internal displacement, foreign investment. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: Earthrights International
2000-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 5.98 MB
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