PPTEP to prove no environmental damage in RI caused by oil spill
Tuesday, May 9 2017 - 11:32 AM WIB
Thai-listed integrated energy company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited plc (PTTEP) and its affiliate PTT Exploration and Production Company Australasia (PTTEP AA) are ready to prove in the court that there was no environmental damage in Indonesia caused by a 2009 oil spill incident in Timor Sea.
?PTTEP and PTTEP AA are confident in the results of the environmental studies and ready to prove that there is no damage as per the claim made by the Indonesian Government and reported by the media,? PTTEP said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company added that regarding the report of confiscation of assets of PTTEP and PTTEP AA, both companies believe that such action could not be done according to applicable laws.
?PTTEP and PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd (PTTEP AA) have not officially received the lawsuit documents and have prepared readiness to defend and proceed with the legal case. According to PTTEP AA?s legal advisors preliminarily advise, the confiscation of assets of PTTEP and PTTEP AA could not be conducted based on applicable laws,? said Somporn Vongvuthipornchai, President and CEO of PTTEP in the statement.
Currently, PTTEP Netherlands Holding Co?peratie U.A. (a subsidiary of PTTEP) has one operating asset in Indonesia by a holding of 11.5 percent interest in the Natuna Sea A Project. The Project?s total sales volume of natural gas is approximately 224 million cubic feet per day with approximately 1,200 barrels per day of crude oil representing the net contribution of approximately 1 percent to PTTEP?s total sales volume, the company said. ?Indonesia is one of strategic investment countries of PTTEP that the company has plan to continuously invest in. However, due to the current lawsuit, PTTEP has decided to suspend its investment decision in all future projects until further conclusion of the lawsuit.?
As has been previously reported, the Indonesian government had on May 3 filed a lawsuit against PTTEP Australasia and two affiliated firms with the Central Jakarta District Court over a 2009 oil spill incident in the Timor Sea.
The Office of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs said in a statement Friday that the lawsuit was made against the companies as they have not shown good will in providing compensation for environmental damages caused by the oil spill, which was triggered by the Montara rig explosion in the Timor Sea but the effect of which reached coastal areas in East Nusa Tenggara Province.
The government demands the companies to pay compensation of up to Rp 27.5 trillion to help restore the affected environment at three local coastal villages in East Nusa Tenggara.
Edting by Reiner Simanjuntak