Karen EAOs claim control of the Yadana Pipeline Corridor

Myanmar’s civil war has transformed the Yadana pipeline corridor from a secure revenue stream into a contested battleground. Karen resistance forces - the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the KNU’s splinter group, Kawthoolei Army (KTLA) - have advanced deep into Tanintharyi Region, overrunning outposts that the junta had maintained specifically to guard the pipeline. KTLA now claims control of a 40-kilometer stretch of the line near the Thai border, with ethnic leaders warning that they may cut or destroy the pipeline to deprive the military of its vital gas revenues. KNLA field sources, however, refute these claims as inconsistent with the reality on the ground and allege that they currently control swathes of the pipeline with no imminent threat to Thailand.  

This statement, if true, holds potential for devastating impact on electricity operations in both Thailand and Myanmar, given the position of the Yadana gas field and its cross-border pipeline as one of mainland Southeast Asia’s most strategic energy assets. Following Chevron and Total’s exit from the country, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) now consolidates a majority stake of almost 63%, and the military-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) holding the rest. PTTEP now effectively owns and operates the pipeline carrying gas into Thailand, which supplies roughly a quarter of Thailand’s natural gas needs and fuels about half of Yangon’s electricity. Ongoing ethnic control, therefore, threatens both domestic energy security and billions of dollars in gas revenues for PTTEP, the Thai government, and the Myanmar military, with the pipeline making up 68% of MOGE’s revenue in FY2022/23. Holding parts of the corridor provides both leverage and symbolism for the Karen, providing them with control over a resource long seen as financing their oppression.