According to the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, 22 blocks throughout Burma are open for oil and gas exploration. The PSC-A block lies squarely in the middle of the world’s largest tiger reserve located in Kachin State. In September 2008, the Russian firm Nobel Holdings Investment Limited and its Burmese partner Htoo Trading Company Ltd obtained the exploration rights for Block A. Until today, however, it remains unclear how far the firms have gone with their oil and exploration operations in the valley.

Research about onshore oil exploration by the China Offshore National Oil Company in Arakan State showed that:

• Hundreds of acres of farming lands were confiscated
• Local people lost their livelihoods such as farming and traditional oil drilling
• There has been no compensation for local people so far
• Local workers received only irregular and low wages
• Worker camps were unsanitary and do not respect local customs
• Toxic wastes were thrown into local waterways
• Local people were not allowed to participate in decision making
• Local people had to endure thousands of seismic explosions during exploration tests

For more information see Blocking Freedom

• Oil extraction must be stopped until there is a democratically-elected government in Burma in which people can genuinely participate in decision making processes for the use of their local resources and related infrastructure development without fearing persecution.
• Burma should have a progressive energy policy that will prioritize the needs of the people
• There should be greater scrutiny and regulation of transnational companies’ operations in Burma, particularly in the extractive industries.
• Sustainable alternative mining policies must be developed by a democratic government. Small scale mining that has minimum impact to the environment can be managed by communities are already used in Burma. Such projects should be further developed in the future.