The shortest way is not always the best way

When a gas pipeline is build, careful planning can minimize the impact on the environment.

Yadana is the name of a big gas field off the coast of Myanmar (Burma). It started gas production in 1998 after almost 20 years of careful preparations to minimize the ecological impact. When it became clear that a 65 km overland pipeline would be needed to transport the gas from the Gulf of Martaban in Myanmar to Thailand, the main customer for the gas, Total as the principal developer choose neither the shortest nor the easiest route for it. The planning carefully avoided primary tropical rainforest to be affected, going instead via a northern detour through degraded vegetation, as advised by an independent international environmental expert. Also the width of the cut through the land was only 18 m wide, the minimun safe operation width for earth-moving machines, in order to limit forest clearance. Cleared areas were replanted. The whole project is designed to integrate the pipeline harmoniously into its environment over the very long term - sustainability at work.