It is understood that BS Negi, director (business development), of GAIL, said his company preferred a route via the NE of the country: his detailed report discusses routeing the pipeline through the Indian states of Mizoram, Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal. The pipeline will also have the provision to transport gas from developing gasfields in Tripura and Assam. The detailed feasibility report for the Myanmar-India gas pipeline, by-passing Bangladesh, and the pre-feasibility reports of the other proposed routes, were undertaken by SUEZ Tractebel of Belgium as technical consultant. Bringing gas through Bangladesh had become a thorny issue, which had in fact stalled the whole process, and which had led to Myanmar favourably considering a request for large gas supplies to China after repeatedly urging India to speed-up alternative plans including setting-up power projects near the gasfields. At the meeting, GAIL, which is the preferred buyer of gas from Block A-1, made presentations of the various options for import of gas – three land routes and three sea route options – besides transporting the gas as LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG). Sources said that out of these eight options, two included routes through Bangladesh. GAIL and ONGC Videsh hold 30% of the two exploration blocks – A-1 and A-3 – offshore Myanmar. Daewoo International, with a 60% share, is operator of both blocks, and South Korea's Korea Gas Corporation holds the remaining 10%. Besides its own share of gas from the A-1 block, in which so far Myanmar has announced 2.88-3.56 trillion cuft of in-place gas reserves, India is keen to get additional gas supplies to make the import plans more feasible and help bridge the growing shortfall of the clean energy fuel available in the country. Myanmar is one of the most repressive regimes in the world, and consistently refuses or ignores calls from the United Nations and elsewhere to moderate its appalling human-rights' record. The reclusive country is governed by an unelected military junta since 1962. Most Western countries refuse all official dealings with the country, although a number of multi-national companies still feel it appropriate to maintain economic links for the sake of their shareholder's pockets.