Drilling platforms at the Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, from where natural gas is exported to Thailand.

CHEVRON Corporation’s merger with Unocal Corporation on August 10 will not affect the latter’s operations in Myanmar, said a spokesperson at the Yangon office of Unocal.

Chevron won the bid for Unocal after another leading contender, China’s CNOOC, dropped its offer.

Unocal has a 28.26 per cent stake in the offshore Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, with other shareholders including Thailand’s state-run PTTEP, France’s Total and the government-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
The gas that is extracted from Yadana is exported to Thailand through a pipeline.

“The merger has no effect on our operations in Myanmar,” said a representative of Unocal Myanmar Offshore Company Limited.

She said the company would not change its name and the merger would not affect employment in Myanmar.

Because of the merger the combined company became the fourth-largest international oil company in the world in terms of oil and gas production, and the third-largest international oil and gas company in terms of reserve.
The merged company will continue investment and operations in Myanmar, said the representative.

“We are continuing to support the ongoing Yadana operations and any future project plans related to Yadana,” she said.

She said she was optimistic about the merger’s business potential because the two companies have long histories of investment in Asia.

Unocal is a leading independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production company in Southeast Asia, with operations in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.

“The merger has made Chevron the biggest player in Southeast Asia’s (energy market),” said the representative.

Chevron Corporation also planned to build up its energy business in Thailand following the merger, Bangkok Post reported last week.

Mr Stephen Green, the managing director of Chevron’s Asia South business unit, said the merger would expand the oil and natural gas value chain network in areas such as the government energy market, energy sources, services and conservation activities, in Thailand.

Mr Green was formerly Unocal’s vice president for international energy operations in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

In addition, he said, the company’s gas exploration and production would become more efficient, and operating costs would be reduced due to the combination of Unocal’s expertise in independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production, and Chevron’s strong expertise in the refinery and retail businesses.

Mr Green said Chevron would save approximately US$325 million in operating costs annually as a result of the merger.

The merger will also boost Chevron’s average daily production in Thailand to 1.5 billion cubic feet a day (mcfd) of natural gas, 97,000 barrels of crude oil and 42,000 barrels of condensate.

Mr Green said the merger would not affect the employment structure of the two companies.

“The key objective of the merger is to make synergy; it’s not to reduce costs or cut headcount,” he said.

In Thailand the combined workforce of the two companies is about 1400.
“The corporate cultures of Chevron and Unocal are similar and an excellent strategic fit to each other because both companies originated in California. So, I don’t foresee major changes of operational style in Thailand and other countries after the merger,” he told Bangkok Post.