Unocal claims that it does not pollute sea water and fishponds in Kutai
Wednesday, January 24 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
Oil company PT Unocal claims that it does pollute sea water and fishponds along the Muara Jaya coast in Semboja subdistrict, Kutai, East Kalimantan, and therefore, it will not give any compensation to farmers in the area.
The head of Unocal's government relations office, Suwarno, said in Balikpapan on Tuesday (Jan. 23) that based on a research conducted jointly by Unocal and the University of Mulawarman, it was found that that Unocal did not pollute sea waters along the Muara Jawa coast.
And therefore this seawater would not pollute the people's fishponds along the coast when the water got into the fishponds, Suwarno said.
Nevertheless, according to Suwarno, this U.S oil company would still perform its people care programs through various projects.
As reported earlier, hundreds of fishpond farmers and also fishermen in Muara Jawa complained that their income dropped drastically since Unocal conducted oil exploration in the area since April 2000.
Fishpond farmers could not harvest their fish because the fish died when they were still very young. Meanwhile, fishermen got less and less fish from the sea since Unocal started its operation there.
The farmers and fishermen argued that all the calamities were caused by Unocal because the company drilled wells only 500 meters away from the coast line.
Suwarno explained that on Monday (Jan. 22), Unocal invited eight fishermen and farmers led by H. Abdul Qadir to visit a Unocal rig off the Muara Jawa coast. Unocal explained to them that offshore oil drilling activities did not pollute seawaters and moreover fishponds.
However, Suwarno acknowledged that the farmers and fishermen were still unsatisfied by Unocal's explanations. "Thus, we ask the authorities to give explanation and create understanding among the people."
Unocal's public relations manager Sutawijaya added that Unocal did not use explosive devices such as dynamites in its Muara Jawa drilling activities, and therefore, fears that Unocal operation caused changes in sea ecosystem should not be true. (*)