Thai Ang, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, said recently that Myanmar will launch a new round of oil and gas exploration bidding within this year.

It is understood that the Ministry of Electricity and Energy of Myanmar had promised to open 33 new oil and gas blocks for bidding by foreign companies in the first quarter of last year, but because the country’s relevant departments hope to draft a petroleum law to regulate this round of tendering, this commitment delayed. It is unclear whether the Ministry of Electricity and Energy of Myanmar will enact relevant laws before the bidding.

Earlier, major oil and gas producers in Myanmar have complained that if they do not revise the current draft law on oil and gas, investors may be discouraged. The current draft law does not address the governance issues and contract disclosure issues of many state-owned enterprises.

In fact, the oil and gas industry is very important to Myanmar's fiscal revenue. According to official Myanmar data, natural gas exports accounted for about half of Myanmar’s total exports in fiscal year 2017-2018. Some industry analysts have warned that Myanmar may need to sell its oil and gas blocks at a discount this time because of the current bleak expectations of oil prices.