The Council on Ethics recommends that the Thai oil and gas company PTT PCL (PTT) and its subsidiary PTT Oil and Retail Business PCL (PTTOR) be excluded from investment by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) due to an unacceptable risk that the companies are contributing to serious violation of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict. The recommendation relates to the companies’ activities in Myanmar.
PTT’s subsidiary, PTT Exploration and Production PCL, is partnering with the state-owned oil company Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) in three offshore gas fields in Myanmar. PTTOR is a partner in a joint venture with the military-owned conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) for the construction and operation of an oil terminal and a liquid natural gas (LNG) filling facility.
In February 2021, the armed forces in Myanmar staged a coup d’état, after which the military has intensified its extremely serious abuses of civilians. Through their activities in the country, PTT and PTTOR provide the armed forces with substantial revenue streams that can finance military operations and abuses. The companies’ business partnerships with MOGE and MEC represents an unacceptable risk of contributing to extremely serious norm abuses in the future.
The Council on Ethics issued its recommendation on exclusion on 10 May 2022. Norge Bank announced its decision to exclude the company on 15 December 2022.
Please find the Council’s recommendation here.