PTTEP admits oil spill reached RI waters

After months of bickering, Thai rig operator PTTEP Australasia conceded that the oil slick produced by last year?s explosion on one of its rigs in the Montara field had reached Indonesia?s Timor Sea.

"PTTEP Australasia and Indonesia officialy agreed during the meeting of both delegations in Singapore (Dec. 17-18) on the fact that some hydrocarbon from the Montara H1 well reached Indonesian waters (exonomic exclusive zone)last year and has potentialy affected local and national fishing sector, particularly in West Timor, Rote and Sawu islands," Luechai Wongsirasawad, PTTEP Public Company Limited's executive VP human resources & business services group, said in a statement.

Meanwhile The Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday that a team from the PTTE?P also promised to conduct the field study to verify financial losses claimed by the Indonesian government.

While PTTEP has admitted that its oil spill has reached Indonesian waters, it has however claimed that the oil spill never reached the coastal area in East Nusa Tenggara province, heads of advocacy team tasked with negotiating with PTTEP over the oil spill, Masnellyarti Hilman, told reporters on Monday, as quote by the Post.

?A team from PTTEP and Indonesia will visit the area (East Nusa Tenggara) to clarify our claims. They need to talk with the affected people listed in our claims,? she said.

The two teams were expected to meet next year to discuss the details of the financial claims.

The Montara field, operated by PTTEP, exploded in August 2009.

Indonesia earlier claimed the oil spill affected nine Indonesian regencies around Timor Sea, polluting 70,341 square kilometers of water and coastline.PTTEP said it had found no verifiable evidence to support any of these claims. (bernard)