"Time is running out for the Ministry of Electricity and Energy to launch the round by the end of the year, having initially planned to start the process in the first half of 2019. The government published the revised text of the draft oil and gas law for public consultation in August with the aim of reforming the legal framework and replacing the 1957 petroleum resources act. But the association representing oil and gas investors has highlighted its objections to parliament in a letter, of which The Myanmar Times has seen extracts. Gas produced offshore in Myanmar is delivered to the domestic market and exported to Thailand and China, forming a major source of government revenues. In 2017-18, natural gas exports accounted for US$3.1 billion, or around 50 percent of total export revenues. But 2019 is a far cry from the heydays of 2013-2014, when in the space of 12 months the country enjoyed a rapid increase in foreign direct investment with the award of 16 onshore and 20 offshore blocks. There has been no international bidding under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration. State-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the de facto regulator, has pledged to go ahead with the release of 15 offshore and 18 onshore blocks to international bidders this year, leaving open the possibility of a bidding round without a new law. At present, there are 38 offshore and 27 onshore joint ventures in Myanmar, which are structured as production sharing contracts (PSCs)..."