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Premier oil finally exits burma
17 September 2002
Premier Oil has finally withdrawn from Burma after years of campaigning by the Burma Campaign UK and Friends of the Earth. The company has sold its stake in the Yetagun pipeline in Burma and the Natuna project in Indonesia to Petronas and Amerada Hess respectively.
The UK based oil exploration company had insisted on operating in Burma despite repeated calls from Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that the company should pull out. The UK government had also taken the unprecedented step of calling on Premier to withdraw.
Premier's withdrawal represents a stark warning to other companies still supporting Burma's oppressive regime. Unfortunately, companies operating in Burma have not fulfilled their responsibilities to the Burmese people and continue to do business in the face of massive human rights abuses. Despite withdrawing, Premier Oil still insists that it was not acting in an unacceptable and irresponsible way by operating in Burma and that the sole reason for getting out was financial.
Craig Bennett, Corporates Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said
"Premier has finally done the right thing, even if it was for the wrong reasons. It is unacceptable that a UK company has refused to take responsibility for the effects of its operations on people and the environment, despite the UK Government calling on it to do so. Companies like this will continue to act destructively whilst they can get away with it. They obviously won't take responsibility voluntarily, so we need tough new laws to force companies to operate in a socially and environmentally acceptable way."
For more information on Friends of the Earth's and others' campaign for new laws to control corporations see www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/
If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jan 2009
