RI to make formal claim in Timor spill

The government says it will file an official claim on Wednesday with Thai oil and gas company PTTEP Australasia for environmental damage caused by an oil spill in the Timor Sea.
Rote Ndao Regent Leonard Haning said he wanted more than Rp 7 trillion (US$784 million) in compensation for environmental damage of and economic losses to the regency, which has been the region most greatly affected by the disaster.
Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said that negotiators from Indonesia and PTTEP Australasia would meet on Aug. 25 in Perth.
It will be the second meeting after the PTTEP Australasia oil platform exploded in the Montara field off Australia’s north coast in August 2009. The first meeting was held last month, also in Perth.
“The Indonesian negotiating team will mention a sum for financial compensation, which will be based on estimated environmental, social and economic losses from the oil spill,” he told reporters on Monday.
Gusti declined to say what sum Indonesian negotiators would propose.
A source who declined to be named said Indonesia would likely demand Rp 19 trillion in reparations, which would include Rp 7 trillion for Rote Ndao.
Chief Indonesian negotiator Masnellyarti Hilman also declined to comment on the proposed amount for compensation.
Masnellyarti said that the total area affected by the oil spill has continued to increase.
“Satellite imaging shows the impacted area is only 28,662 square kilometers but our field findings indicate the spill has spread to over 70,341 square kilometers,” she said.
Masnellyarti said that Indonesia has spent Rp 1.9 billion to date on operational costs such as surveys, meetings and visits to Perth.
The proposal that PTTEP will receive includes a calculation of the damage to the ecosystem, she said.
“We have computed the need for restoration of ecosystems such as mangrove, coral reefs, sea grass and seaweed,” she said.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said it would take 10 years for the coral reef and mangrove ecosystems to recover while marine life would require two years.
The Rote Ndao regent said that he would ask for Rp 7.9 trillion in financial compensation.
“The oil spill disaster has affected the livelihoods of more than 21,000 fishermen in 48 villages in Rote Ndao regency,” Leonard said.
“The figure includes the cost of restoring the damaged coastal ecosystem and other social effects, such as transportation and education,” he told reporters.
Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, who is also Ocean Oil Spill Emergency Situations National Team head, previously said the government would seek initial compensation of Rp 500 billion for direct losses.
Samples collected by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry indicate that the hydrocarbons it found in the Timor Sea were similar to samples taken from the Montara platform, as previously reported.
The Environment Ministry said its analysis showed the quality of sea water in Timor Sea failed to meet tolerable levels set by Indonesian government.

Adianto P. Simamora,
The Jakarta Post