Sector-Wide Impact Assessment of the Oil & Gas Sector in Myanmar

The Myanmar Oil & Gas Sector-Wide Impact Assessment (SWIA), developed by IHRB in partnership with the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) and Danish Institute of Human Rights, is intended to support responsible business practices in this growing sector of Myanmar’s economy. 

The Myanmar Oil & Gas SWIA puts detailed information on potential impacts of the sector into the public domain for uptake and use by a wide range of audiences.

It assesses not only localised impacts on individuals and groups that may arise from projects in the sector, but also cumulative impacts and the sector’s potential impacts on Myanmar society as a whole.

This is important because:

• Myanmar is currently facing a rapid increase in investment in its oil and gas (O&G) sector with the award of 16 onshore and 20 offshore blocks in the space of 12 months in 2013-2014

• Even though the country is emerging from decades of ethnic conflict, authoritarian rule and economic isolation it is, and will remain for some time, a high-risk country with poor governance. An understanding of the potential impacts of the sector is necessary to improve the outcomes for Myanmar and its people.

• Responsible business conduct in the Oil & Gas sector in Myanmar therefore requires enhanced due diligence to determine what impacts business activities may have on society, including on human rights. This must include robust approaches to managing those impacts. The Oil & Gas SWIA is intended to be a resource for these efforts.

The recommendations in the O&G SWIA are directed towards government, businesses (and investors in those business), civil society and development partners for Myanmar, and are intended to support wider multistakeholder collaboration.

Read the Myanmar Oil & Gas SWIA on MCRB's website.