Activists warn offshore gas projects and Russian deals to fuel Myanmar regime finances through

A coalition of Myanmar pro-democracy activists, known as the Blood Money Campaign, told DVB that an offshore natural gas site “Min Ye Thu project” in Block M-10 located in the Gulf of Martaban off the coast of Tanintharyi Region, is expected to begin providing funds to the regime in 2028. “If production begins as planned, the revenue will provide funding that helps sustain military rule,” a member of the Blood Money Campaign told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that the entire financial system that supports the regime in Naypyidaw needs to be dismantled. The regime’s Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the Thai-owned Gulf Petroleum Myanmar (GPM) signed a deal on natural gas extraction at a site called the “Min Ye Thu project” on May 29, 2025. MOGE has been sanctioned by the U.S., European Union (E.U.), and Switzerland since the 2021 military coup for providing foreign currency to the cash-strapped regime. The Blood Money Campaign has warned that another exploration site, Block M-15, located near Kadan Island in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Tanintharyi Region, will become another key source of foreign currency for the military to purchase more sophisticated weapons and to continue its campaign of airstrikes against communities nationwide. Officials from MOGE and the Canadian Foresight Group (CFG), an oil and gas exploration and development company operating in Asia, reportedly met on Aug. 10 and are set to begin operations in Block M-15 by the end of this year. A Singapore-registered subsidiary of CFG secured the Block M-15 tender under a production-sharing contract with MOGE in March 2015. The firm holds an 80 per cent stake in the block, which BBC Burmese reports could generate revenue equal to 40 per cent of Myanmar’s foreign currency earnings. Regime media reported in June about a discovery of “significant” natural gas reserves in deep-water offshore sites in Tanintharyi and Ayeyarwady regions, with estimated capacities of 95 trillion cubic feet (2.69 trillion cubic meters) and 14 trillion cubic feet (396.4 billion cubic meters). Myanmar hosts four offshore natural gas extraction sites with a daily production capacity of over 1.3 billion cubic feet (36.8 million cubic meters) of which 1 billion cubic feet (28.3 million cubic meters) is exported to China and Thailand. Tanintharyi Region hosts another controversial project known as the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which was revived by a deal between Myanmar and Russia in February 2025. Saw Dar Ko, a member of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) under National Unity Government (NUG) command in the regional capital Dawei District, told DVB that regime forces have escalated a counteroffensive with the Myanmar Air Force launching regular airstrikes on the town since June. The E.U.-sanctioned Russian state energy firm Inter RAO signed a deal on June 5, with the military-controlled Launglon Economic Development Company to construct a coal power plant at the Dawei SEZ. The SEZ—encompassing a deep-sea port, oil refinery, and coal power plant—was among 12 bilateral pacts signed between Min Aung Hlaing and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Aug 17–20. The Myanmar military arbitrarily detained, tortured, and killed at least five civilians—including three humanitarian aid workers—during a July counteroffensive in Yebyu Township, according to a Fortify Rights report released on Aug. 31. Yebyu is located 14 miles (22 km) north of Dawei. Explore our Sanctions Monitor Dashboard