Myanmar has various laws and regulations that govern the extractives sector, including a Mining Law, a Gemstone Law and a Petroleum Act, but contracts typically govern all extractive projects. Contracts are confidential, with only the PSC signed between Total Myanmar E&P and MOGE for the Yedana project (dated 9 July 1992) being publicly available. The main revenue streams in both the hydrocarbon and mining sector are royalties, production split and commercial tax/corporate income tax.  Tax revenues are collected by the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MOPFI). Subnational governments do not collect revenues. 

The latest EITI disclosures (FY 2017-2018) show that total revenue collected from the extractive companies amounted to around  USD1,4 billion. 72.2% of these revenues came from oil and gas, while 27.8% came from the mining sector. Extractive revenues were mainly collected through the government’s share of oil and gas production, royalties, signature bonuses and corporate income tax. 

Extractive revenues in Myanmar have to a large extent been retained by State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in so-called “Other Accounts”as the company’s own funds and for the purpose of its exclusive operations and capital investment. The latest EITI Report reveals that Myanmar’s largest operating SOE, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), transferred about USD 504 million into its Other Accounts in fiscal year 2017-2018. That same fiscal year, the closing balance of this same account was USD 4.6 billion, more than six times the total revenue of just over USD 727 million collected from oil and gas companies for the same fiscal period.

However, responding to recommendations in EITI Reports and calls for more transparency around Other Accounts, the government of Myanmar has undertaken various reform measures to improve SOE transparency. In 2019, the government issued a directive to abolish the contentious Other Accounts, ordering that all revenues from SOEs are to be transferred to the State Budget from fiscal year 2019-2020 and onwards. Following this government order, Other Accounts will be closed and all revenues from SOEs will need to be recorded in the national budget, which will allow for greater public oversight.

According to the 2017-2018 EITI Report, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution from the extractive sector amounted to 4.8% of the Country’s GDP. The extractive sector’s contribution to the State’s revenue amounted to 5.2% in 2017-2018, with an export value amounting to 35% in the same period.

Total employment for the extractive sector that was reported by the government agencies represented 0.25% of the total employment of the labour force in FY 2017-2018. 

Myanmar joined the EITI in 2014 with the aim of supporting good governance and transparency reforms. The three main objectives of the MSG for EITI implementation is:

1. To acquire accurate, correct and up-to-date information regarding the management of natural resources and associated material revenues in a timely manner and to make the information publicly available
2. To create an enabling environment for the effective implementation of the EITI Standard
3. To support the implementation of sustainable development and natural resource governance reforms through the successful execution of EITI.

The EITI in Myanmar has contributed to increasing public debate around the extractives sector and has opened up discussion on issues of natural resource governance such as Other Accounts and the need to revise the gemstone sector policy. The MSG has also extended its outreach to subnational units (SNUs).

Governance

On 29 December 2016, the Union Government formally established the Myanmar EITI Leading Committee, which is is the highest EITI governing body in the country. The Leading Committee is composed of the Minister of Planning, Finance and Industry as Chair, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation and the Minister of Electricity and Energy as members, and the Deputy Minister of MOPFI as Secretary. The Renaissance Institute was appointed as the National Coordination Secretariat (NCS), with U Soe Win being appointed as National Coordinator. The current MSG is chaired by Deputy Minister for Planning, Finance and Industry, U Maung Maung Win. The MSG consists of eight members from civil society, seven members from industry and nine members from government. Civil society is represented by the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA), while industry is represented by members of the Myanmar Federation of Mining Associations (MFMA), Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association (MGJEA) and oil and gas companies. The forestry sector is also represented through the Myanmar Forest Products Merchants Federation (MFPMF).

Timeline

Myanmar's Validation against the Standard commenced on 1 July 2018. On 16 October 2019, the EITI Board found Myanmar to have made meaningful progress in implementing the EITI Standard. The country was admitted as EITI candidate in 2014.