Alfian,

Indonesia has asked Thai oil and gas company PTT EP Australasia to pay around US$5 million in
down payment to repair environmental damage caused by the company’s oil spill in the Timor
Sea, a minister told legislators Tuesday.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi, who also heads the national oil spill response team, said the request was submitted by government representatives in ongoing negotiations with the Thai company in Perth, Australia.

“We asked them to pay a down payment so we can help affected communities immediately while waiting on further developments. If the request is approved, the money can be used as an early recovery fund given directly to the people,” he said during at a hearing with legislators from the House of Representatives’ Commission VII overseeing energy, mining, and the environment.

The government has not quoted a final compensation figure, saying the long term impact of the
disaster was still being calculated. What has been estimated is the compensation figure for short-term impacts such as losses suffered by fishermen and seaweed farmers in the area, which Freddy quoted at around Rp 247 billion.

“But this was the figure when the oil spill area was still around 56,000 square kilometers. Now that the area extends over 66,000 square kilometers, we must recalculate the figure,” he said.

The East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration has also formed a team to calculate the compensation figure. The team estimates the compensation for the short-term impacts of the oil spill could reach Rp 806.17 billion.

Freddy said the total compensation figure would be higher if long- term impacts were included in the calculation.

“If the [costs of] environmental recovery are also calculated, the total figure could exceed Rp 1 trillion,” he said.

Freddy added that PTT EP Australasia had committed to paying compensation. “I believe that if the data is valid, they will pay the compensation as they are committed to doing so,” he said.

PTT EP Australasia is a Bangkok-based oil and gas company operating in Australia and Asia. On
Aug. 21, 2009, the company’s production facility, the Montara Well Head Platform in West Atlas block, the Timor Sea, exploded, leading to an estimated 400 barrels of oil being spilled every day. The spill entered Indonesian waters on Aug. 30, 2009.

As of Oct. 3, 2009, the oil spill covered 16,420 square kilometers of Indonesian waters. PTT EP Australasia was able to stop the spill on Nov. 3, 2009.

Legislator Satya Widya Yudha said the government reacted too slowly to the problem. “Because we have vast marine territories, we seem to see the oil spill as a small incident,” he said.

He added that the government should also diplomatically request that Australia face up to its
responsibility in the matter as the platform operated within the country’s territory.