Chevron executive grilled in US Congress over Myanmar venture

Chevron executive grilled in US Congress over Myanmar venture
AFP - Thursday, May 22 12:30 am

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A top executive of US energy giant Chevron was grilled in Congress Wednesday over the firm's investment in Myanmar, where military rulers have restricted international aid for cyclone victims.

The military junta has refused to allow US ships laden with emergency supplies to sail near Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, the worst hit by a cyclone more than two weeks ago that left 133,000 dead or missing.

The United Nations estimates that only 500,000 of the 2.4 million people affected by the storm are receiving international aid.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer pressed Chevron's vice-chairman Peter Robertson at a congressional hearing Wednesday over the firm's stake in a Myanmar natural gas pipeline project that he said enriched the country's military rulers accused of human rights and other violations.

Congress had launched legislation to end tax write-offs enjoyed by Chevron on revenues earned from Myanmar following the junta's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests in September.

"In the last few weeks, many American have gotten a glimpse into the insular and oppressive world of Burma," Schumer said, using Myanmar's previous name.

"As we all watched the woefully inadequate response to the disaster by the repressive and violent military junta that runs the country, many have been shocked to learn that Chevron continues to operate in Burma," Schumer said.

"American taxpayers should not have to subsidize Chevron's presence in Myanmar, which only helps to prop up a brutal, despotic regime. It's time to close the loophole that allows Chevron to operate free of sanctions in Myanmar," he said.

Robertson defended Chevron's investment in Myanmar and said that the company had already committed two million dollars to helping the cyclone victims.

"Our plan is to stay in Burma. I've been there and I've seen the people that live in the area where we operate along our pipeline system. I know for a fact that they are better off by us being there than by anybody else being there," he said.

Schumer backs legislation that would eliminate millions of dollars in US tax breaks Chevron enjoys in the Yadana natural gas project, in which it holds a 28 percent minority share.

Chevron will also be barred from making any payments to the junta from its joint venture project under the legislation, in the final stages of being framed after initial bills were passed by both wings of Congress.