Myanmar's August gas exports to Thailand earn 588 million dollars

Myanmar military offensive forces thousands to flee into ThailandYangon - Myanmar earned 588.7 million dollars off natural gas exports to neighbouring Thailand in August, media reports said Sunday.

In August, 92,000 million cubic feet of natural gas was piped overland to Thailand from the Myanmar's Yadana and Yetagun reserves in the Gulf of Martaban, according to the National Planning and Economic Development, The Myanmar Times reported.

Myanmar's natural gas exports earned the country 1.2 billion dollars in the first five months of fiscal year 2009-10, which started on April 1, the English-language weekly said.

In fiscal 2007-08, Myanmar exported a record 2.53 billion dollars worth of natural gas to Thailand. Gas exports declined slightly in fiscal 2008-09 to 2.38 billion.

Natural gas is Myanmar's main foreign exchange earner, accounting for nearly 66.5 per cent of total exports in August, according to government statistics.