Chinese firms are helping Myanmar’s military build a jet-fuel refinery, investigation finds

Satellite imagery locates Unit 202, the Thanlyin refinery's Jet A-1 production facility, cross-referenced against a piling installation plan for the site. (Source: Apple Maps/Ministry of Electricity and Energy/DVB)

By *Alambara

An investigation into the Thanlyin refinery project and its role in reducing the military regime’s dependence on imported aviation fuel.

Myanmar’s military is moving to produce its own Jet A-1 aviation fuel

Myanmar’s military regime is moving to produce Jet A-1 aviation fuel domestically, with Chinese companies supplying the design, equipment and infrastructure for the project, a DVB investigation has found.

A review of publicly available company records, government statements, corporate websites and vessel-tracking data shows that the Thanlyin refinery, on the outskirts of Yangon, is being revived specifically to reduce the military’s reliance on imported jet fuel, a dependence that has made it vulnerable to international sanctions, foreign-currency shortages and swings in the global fuel market.

As fighting has intensified across Myanmar, aviation fuel has become one of the military’s most important strategic resources, alongside weapons and ammunition.

The air force increasingly provides close air support to ground troops, transports personnel and equipment, and strikes ground targets, including in civilian-populated areas. The fuel that keeps those aircraft flying has become critical to sustaining the regime’s air operations.

The project involves the state-owned Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise (MPE) and companies linked to the military’s existing aviation-fuel supply network.

DVB also found that several Chinese companies are involved in the project’s engineering, equipment manufacturing, construction, installation and pipeline infrastructure.