Interra Resources, a major oil company, reported on Thursday ( Feb. 6 ) that the company’s subsidiary and a company run by the Myanmar government had a production-sharing agreement years before the current ruling military seized power in the nation in 2021.
After the activist group Justice for Myanmar claimed in a Jan. 29 report that Interra “helped supply the junta” with more than two million barrels of oil , worth more than US$ 150 million, and “fueled its ongoing war crimes,” the Singapore Exchange (SGX ) published the statement at night.
Prior to the military coup in 2021, the civilian government and the civilian government obtained and extended the current IPRCs ( improved petroleum recovery contracts ),” Interra said.
Interra requested on Feb 6 that its stock get suspended , from trading on SGX before the industry opened on Thursday.
Shares of Interra last closed at S$ 0.036 ( US$ 0.027 ) on Friday, Jan 31, before it imposed its own trading halt on Monday, Feb 3. Self-imposed stops can last for up to three days, after which a formal demand to SGX is required.  ,
The Singapore petroleum explorer, which has operations in Indonesia as well, said it is looking for legal counsel regarding its compliance with international laws and will request that the trading suspension be lifted again the compliance issue is resolved.
According to its website, Interra owns about 60 % of Goldpetrol Joint Operating Company ( GJOC).
In Chauk and Yenangyaung, key Myanmar, GJOC operates two of the onshore-producing fuel areas.
GJOC secured the production-sharing contract for oil exploration and production with Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise ( MOGE ), Myanmar’s state oil and gas enterprise, in 1996. In April 2017, the bargain was finally extended for 11 years.
According to Interra, GJOC is still in Myanmar under the terms of the increased gas treatment agreements, which have not changed since the revolution of 2021.
” The company has no power over or power to dictate how the MOGE distributes or uses the fuel that is produced by GJOC”, the firm said, calling the advocate team’s says” sensationalisation”.
Thus, the statement contains unfounded allegations that GJOC is “favoring the junta,” that it has long had a close relation with the Myanmar army, and that GJOC has signed contracts with the “previous military junta,” it said.
Following the coup, the United States and the European Union sanctioned MOGE.
Interra even rejected claims in the , Justice for Myanmar record that , GJOC had ramped up its production after the coup attempt.
Citing its annual review for the fiscal years ending between 2019 and 2023, it pointed out that , GJOC’s net oil production in Myanmar had remained “largely steady” for those five years, with its top result recorded in 2020, which was before the coup.
On claims that the group’s income comes from the delivery of fuel by GJOC,  , Interra said that it was “erroneous” to indicate that any such enhance is linked to the regime’s activities.
As a commodities firm, revenue is exposed to swings in prevailing crude oil and natural gas prices, it added.
The business stated that it will create additional disclosures as soon as there are significant changes.