SINGAPORE, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Singapore's Interra Resources Ltd. said it started drilling into the Yenangyaung oil field in Myanmar, near sites known to produce oil.
Interra said by working through a partnership with the Goldpetrol Joint Operating Co. Inc., it started drilling a development well designated as YNG 3265.
The company said in a statement Wednesday the primary objective of the well is to accelerate production from oil reservoirs from adjacent wells, "of which eight have been completed as oil producers in 2012 and 2013."
It gave no indication of the reserve potential at the Yenangyaung oil field but the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil production in Myanmar is "minimal" though increasing. Myanmar is a net oil importer.
Interra said it would announce the results of the well after drilling operations are completed in about six weeks.
Human rights groups have expressed concern about the corporate interest in Myanmar given its human rights record. Sanctions on Myanmar eased when military rule ended in 2010, though rights groups say it was those sanctions that encouraged reform.
