Eras Poke Jakarta Post 27 Aug 10;
Kupang. Indonesia’s official compensation claim of Rp 22 trillion ($2.44 billion) for last year’s oil spill in the Timor Sea is grossly inadequate, activists say.
“We strongly reject the amount because it is not based on scientific research,” said Ferdy Tanoni, head of the West Timor Care Foundation, which has been lobbying on behalf of fishermen affected by the spill.
“If the environmental damage turns out to be more than Rp 22 trillion, who’s going pay the deficit? The local government does not have the money to cover it.”
Indonesia’s negotiating team on Wednesday presented the claim to Thailand’s state-controlled PTT Exploration and Production.
Its subsidiary, PTTEP Australasia, was operating the Montara oil rig when it caught fire off Australia’s northern coast in August last year and leaked about 400 barrels of oil a day for 74 days.
Indonesia claims the spill has affected large areas off East Nusa Tenggara, with fishermen reporting significantly lower catches.
However, PTTEP chief executive Anon Sirisaengtaksin said the energy firm and the Indonesian government had major differences over what the economic impact would be for fisheries and coastal communities.
The company has said “no verifiable evidence has yet to be presented to support any claim.”
Transport Minister Freddy Numberi, who is also head of the team handling the oil spill, said compensation was now being negotiated.
“The important thing is that we have already made our claims and there will now be other meetings which I hope will not last a long time,” he said.
But Ferdy said the government should have taken longer to determine how much compensation it was going to claim because about 1.5 million people in East Nusa Tenggara were depending on it.
“To clean up a 3,400-square-kilometer area of the ocean in Alaska contaminated by the Exxon Valdes tanker explosion in 1989 they spent $3.6 billion,” he said. “But for Timor sea incident, which spread across 78,000 square kilometers, the figure is only Rp 22 trillion?
“The Alaska incident happened 21 years ago but the impact is still being felt.”
Ferdy said that if in five years it was found that the 1.5 million people in the province were still eating contaminated fish, the government would not be able to press for more money.
“We have formed the Timor Sea pollution monitoring agency which will deliver its own claims,” he said.
“This agency consists of ocean experts from universities in the province, Australia and France. We will be sending the claim to them on September 10.”
But the deputy governor of East Nusa Tenggara, Esthon Foenay, said the local government has already given the province’s official compensation claim to Jakarta.
“The ones doing all the negotiating are the advocacy team,” Esthon said. “We only prepared evidence about the contamination in Kupang district, Kupang city, Rote Ndao, Sabu, Belu, Sumba, East Timor, and Lembata districts.”
Alex Oematan, the head of the East Nusa Tenggara Environmental Agency, said the compensation the province received would be distributed to affected fishermen and sea weeds farmers and spent on cleaning the water.
“It will also go to recovery of coral reefs, which could cost Rp 3.5 million to Rp 4 million per square meter of coral reef.”
Additional reporting by Fidelis E Satriastanti
It’s Claim and Counterclaim in Battle Over Timor Oil Spill
Fidelis E Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 30 Aug 10;
Jakarta. Indonesia on Monday said it had scientific evidence proving a 2009 oil spill in the Timor Sea reached the country’s waters, despite assertions to the contrary by the oil rig operator.
Last Wednesday, the Indonesian delegation seeking compensation for the oil spill, led by the Environment Ministry, presented the country’s claim to PTTEP Australasia, the operator of the Montara oil rig that caught fire off Australia’s northern coast in August last year and leaked about 400 barrels of crude a day for 74 days.
The delegation submitted a compensation claim for Rp 22 trillion ($2.4 billion).
PTTEP Australasia, a subsidiary of Thailand’s state-controlled PTT Exploration and Production, confirmed that it had received the claim, but said that it contained no verifiable supporting evidence.
Indonesia says the oil spill, one of the largest in Australia’s history, has affected large areas off East Nusa Tenggara — up to 78,000 square kilometers by August — with fishermen reporting significantly lower catches.
“We have presented our claim [to the company] and they are still looking through the reports,” said Masnellyarti Hilman, head of the Indonesian delegation. “In every negotiation, you cannot possibly get results right away.”
She said PTTEP Australasia had asked a lot of questions during the meeting about the reports on the spill, including the methodology used, the certification of the laboratories involved and also about the data sampling.
“What we have presented to them is just a summary of the reports — not very detailed — so they have asked us to include other documents,” she said, adding that the two sides would meet again after verifying the data. No date has been set for the next meeting.
However, Masnellyarti said the summary report had already presented strong evidence that the oil slick had reached Indonesian waters and caused damage to marine life.
“The report contains strong scientific evidence that the oil slick contaminated our seas,” she said. “First, from satellite images, footprints of the oil spill found in the Timor Sea match the Montara oil slick, and also from visual observations. This data is scientifically proven, we just need to complete the paperwork.”
Meanwhile, PTTEP said it was working with Australian authorities to monitor the environmental impact of the spill. The company said in a press release that it was working “to study the long-term effect on the environment.”
“The results of these studies will be released to the public when completed,” it said.
Masnellyarti said if the company wanted to collect data from Indonesian waters, it would need the permission of authorities here.
“It was agreed at the first meeting that we will conduct the research and present the data to them, and after that our scientists will meet to discuss and verify the reports,” she said. “Then we will negotiate.”
Firm rejects Indonesia’s claim on spill damage
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 31 Aug 10;
After two rounds of negotiations, Indonesia and Thai rig operator, PTTEP Australasia, failed to reach an agreement on whether the Montara oil slick polluted the Timor Sea. Indonesia has proposed a compensation payment of US$2.2 billion.
After the meeting, the PTTEP said in its statement the company found no verifiable evidence presented by Indonesia’s team to support the claims.
Indonesia said that the report submitted to the PTTEP had gone through analysis by a team of experts set up in Jakarta. “The data has been scientifically proven,” Indonesian advocacy team chief Masnellyarti Hilman told reporters Monday.
Indonesia’s team displayed maps of areas impacted by the oil spill which allegedly covered 70,341 square kilometer in the Timor Sea, affecting nine regencies in the area.
The map of affected areas was determined by satellite images and water samples collected in several locations.
“The impacted areas can be visibly seen,”Masnellyarti said.
Polluted water samples taken from the Timor Sea matched the oil finger print taken from Montara’s rig, she added.
The second meeting was held last week in Perth, Australia, where Indonesia had hoped the company would agree to a US$5 million down payment to repair environmental damage and pay compensation to affected local fishermen. Indonesia has so far spent Rp 1.9 billion ($ 213,483) on operational costs such as surveys, meetings and visits to Perth.
“The PTTEP still questions the methodologies used by Indonesia to take samples and calculate the financial compensation,” Masnellyarti said. “The company also question the accreditation of laboratories assessing water samples from the Timor Sea.”
Indonesia was also asked to submit a full report of findings and claims before scheduling new talks.
“We hope to finish the English-version of the report this month,” she said.
Masnellyarti declined to reveal Indonesia’s exact claim figures, but earlier Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, who is also the Ocean Oil Spill Emergency Situations National Team chief, said the claim had reached $2.2 billion.
Indonesian officials have repeatedly said the PTTEP had agreed to pay compensation to Indonesia.
In the statement sent to The Jakarta Post, the PTTEP did not mention whether or not it agreed to pay compensation to Indonesia.
“We received claims for damages from the Montara incident in the Timor Sea. The company evaluated the oil slick during the incident and its after effects and found that the spread of the slick was limited to only an area surrounding Montara, PTTEP President and CEO Anon Sirisaengtaksin said, adding that the incident is under control.
The PTTEP and the Australian authorities have studied the long term environmental effects of the spread of oil from Montara in the Timor Sea.
Indonesia demands payout over oil spill
(AFP) Google News 31 Aug 10;
JAKARTA — Indonesia has demanded 2.4 billion dollars in compensation from a Thai oil company for damages related to a spill off the northwestern coast of Australia last year, a minister said Tuesday.
Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said the claim for 22 trillion rupiah (2.4 billion dollars) had been presented during talks with PTT Australasia, a unit of Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PCL, in Australia last week.
"Our calculation includes potential damage to the coral reef in the affected area," Numberi was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.
The minister is leading a government team in negotiations with the Thai company, which has asked for detailed scientific evidence to back up Indonesia's claims.
"PTTEP has ... joined hands with Australian authorities concerned to closely follow the environmental situation," the company said in a statement Friday, adding that the spill was limited to an area around its damaged Montara well.
"The result of these studies will be released to the public when completed."
The leak in the Timor Sea from August 21 to November 3 was the worst from an offshore oil platform in Australian history, although it was smaller than the recent BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Like the BP spill, it dragged on for months as the company tried to plug the flow with a relief well, a process that eventually succeeded.
It also led to calls for tougher regulation of offshore drilling and criticism of the authorities responsible for monitoring the operation.
Evidence given at a commission of inquiry showed the Montara slick grew to almost 90,000 square kilometres and entered Indonesian waters, according to environmental group WWF.
The West Timor Care Foundation, which supports poor fishermen in eastern Indonesia, estimates the spill affected the livelihoods of about 18,000 fishermen. Businesses such as seaweed and pearl farms were also reportedly hit.
Following this year's Gulf of Mexico spill, which was the biggest maritime spill on record and spewed some 4.9 million barrels of oil, BP set up a 20-billion-dollar compensation fund.
Indonesia demands payout over oil spill
Yahoo News 31 Aug 10;
JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesia has demanded 2.4 billion dollars in compensation from a Thai oil company for damages related to a spill off the northwestern coast of Australia last year, a minister said Tuesday.
Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said the claim for 22 trillion rupiah (2.4 billion dollars) had been presented during talks with PTT Australasia, a unit of Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PCL, in Australia last week.
"Our calculation includes potential damage to the coral reef in the affected area," Numberi was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.
The minister is leading a government team in negotiations with the Thai company, which has asked for detailed scientific evidence to back up Indonesia's claims.
"PTTEP has ... joined hands with Australian authorities concerned to closely follow the environmental situation," the company said in a statement Friday, adding that the spill was limited to an area around its damaged Montara well.
"The result of these studies will be released to the public when completed."
The leak in the Timor Sea from August 21 to November 3 was the worst from an offshore oil platform in Australian history, although it was smaller than the recent BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Like the BP spill, it dragged on for months as the company tried to plug the flow with a relief well, a process that eventually succeeded.
It also led to calls for tougher regulation of offshore drilling and criticism of the authorities responsible for monitoring the operation.
Evidence given at a commission of inquiry showed the Montara slick grew to almost 90,000 square kilometres and entered Indonesian waters, according to environmental group WWF.
The West Timor Care Foundation, which supports poor fishermen in eastern Indonesia, estimates the spill affected the livelihoods of about 18,000 fishermen. Businesses such as seaweed and pearl farms were also reportedly hit.
Following this year's Gulf of Mexico spill, which was the biggest maritime spill on record and spewed some 4.9 million barrels of oil, BP set up a 20-billion-dollar compensation fund.
