Indonesia: Jakarta seeks $2bn for PTTEP spill damage

Indonesia: Jakarta seeks $2bn for PTTEP spill damage

The Indonesian government is seeking US$2 billion in compensation from
Thailand's PTT EXploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) and its Australian
unit for an oil spill in the Timor Sea nearly eight years ago, an official
said on Friday.

Havas Oegroseno, deputy coordinating minister of maritime affairs, said the
lawsuit was registered on Wednesday at the Central Jakarta District Court
against PTTEP and PTTEP Australasia.

More than 400 barrels of oil per day flowed from the Montara well into the
Timor Sea and stained the coasts of Indonesia and East Timor before mud
pumped through a relief well shut off the deep-water spigot 11 weeks later.

Oegroseno described the civil lawsuit as "an effort to seek justice".

He told a news conference that the demand for compensation included $1.725
billion for environmental damage and $330 million for restoration work. He
added that the environmental damage included 1,200 hectares of mangroves,
1,400 hectares of seagrass and 700 hectares of corals.

An independent review in Australia in 2011 blamed PTTEP and a lax regulator
for the oil leak. The Montara spill occurred because the underwater cement
barrier designed to prevent oil blowouts failed, it said.

Thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil were found drifting near
Indonesia's coastline more than two months after the accident, said to have
been the worst oil spill in the history of Australia's offshore petroleum
industry.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1244330/jakarta-seeks-2bn-for-pttep
-spill-damage

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com