Indonesia Still to Claim Compensation for Timor Sea Contamination

Indonesia Still to Claim Compensation for Timor Sea Contamination

Reuters

A reconnaissance team heads towards the partially collapsed Montara well head platform and the West Atlas mobile offshore drilling unit in the Timor Sea, about 250 km (155 miles) off the far north Kimberley coast of Western Australia state in this November 22, 2009 handout photo. The team carried out a safety and damage assessment on the rig which began leaking oil and gas in August and later caught fire. Picture taken November 22, 2009.

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government remains in a position to file a compensation claim on a 2009 oil spill in the Timor Sea to the responsible parties, an environment ministry official said.

"In accordance with Law Number 32/2009 (on Protection and Management of the Environment), we have a legal standing to file a compensation claim for the contamination of the Timor Sea," said Masnellyarti Hilman, deputy for dangerous and toxic substance affairs to the environment minister, said on Wednesday.

She dismissed as baseless media reports that a claim previously presented to the responsible parties had been rejected. The Indonesian government and those parties had again met in Singapore last November 19 to discuss matters related to the claim.

Hilman said the claim will be based on a scientific methodology but she could not yet reveal the amount demanded. There were differences over the geographical coordinates between those presented by the Indonesian government and the parties on the contaminated areas but this problem had already been solved.

"Results of the meeting in Singapore will again be discussed further next month," said Hilman, adding that the venue and time for the meeting had not yet been set.

An incident took place on Montara wellhead platform on August 21, 2009 and as a result oil spilled into the sea. The incident’ occurred at a spot about 690 kilometers west of Darwin in Australia`s Northern Territory and 250 kilometers northwest of Truscott in western Australia.

It was also located close to Pulau Pasir atoll (Ashmore Reef) where Indonesian traditional fishermen routinely catch fish and other marine biota, according to media reports. By September 3, 2009, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) reported that the slick was 170 km (106 mi) from the coast of Western Australia, and moving closer to the shore.

The slick was also reported to have spread over 6,000 km2 (2,300 sq mi) of ocean with evidence that the oil was killing marine life. On November 3, 2009 (in total 74 days), the leak was stopped by pumping mud into the well and the wellbore cemented that finally "capping" the blowout, according to reports.

The rig is owned by the Norwegian-Bermudan Seadrill, and operated by PTTEP Australasia (PTTEPAA), a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) which is in turn a subsidiary of PTET, the Thai state-owned oil and gas company was operating over on adjacent well on the Montara platform blowout. Representatives from PTTEPAA held meetings with Indonesian government officials in Perth, Western Australia on 27 July and 26 August 2010, to discuss the Indonesian government’s claim for compensation.

The claim is based on the fact that the spill had reached the coastal areas of Timor and Rote islands in the Indonesian maritime territory, according to Indonesian government officials. On 1 September 2010, PTTEPAA stated it did not accept any claim because no verifiable scientific evidence had been presented to the company to support the summary of claims presented by the Indonesian government, reports have said.(Ant)***

Sumber : Kompas.com, Kamis, 25 November 2010 | 07:16 WIB