End Of Montara Oil Spill Case In Sight

JAKARTA, Aug 24 (Antara) - Indonesia has relentlessly been fighting for the best possible solution to the Montara oil spill case, which occurred on Aug 21, 2009, following an explosion of the Montara wellhead in Australian waters of Timor Sea. Considered one of Australia's worst oil disasters, the oil spill had led to a decline in fish and seaweed harvests in the heavily polluted waters and affected the livelihoods of more than 13 thousand fishermen in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. But now the case will soon be settled. West Timor Care Foundation Chairman Ferdi Tanoni remarked in East Nusa Tenggara provincial city of Kupang that he was optimistic that the legal case over the Montara oil spill will soon come to an end. For eight years after the disaster, Tanoni has been struggling to seek justice for the people of East Nusa Tenggara, who were victims of the pollution. Now, he was optimistic that the case will come to an end this year. During a visit with a team to Perth, Western Australia, to meet Indonesian Consul General Ade Padmo Sarwono on Monday, the West Timor Care Foundation chairman stated that the case could be resolved immediately either through litigation or through diplomacy. In the meantime, Sarwono lauded the steps taken by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan to solve the case. "The minister also agreed that the case can be resolved immediately, either through litigation or diplomacy, especially for the oil spill victims in East Nusa Tenggara," the Indonesian consul general in Perth remarked. Pandjaitan strongly demanded an immediate settlement of the legal case, which caused extensive damage to the environment in Timor Sea. "We will take firm action as the main victims of the Montara incident are Indonesian people, the coordinating minister for maritime affairs noted early this month, without elaborating on the action. He remarked that he has sent an envoy to directly inspect the damage caused by the incident. Panjaitan noted at the time that he would not stop pushing for an immediate settlement of the case, especially as seaweed growers in East Nusa Tenggara had won a law suit at the Australian Federal Court on the validity of the plaintiff in filing class action in the case of environmental pollution. "I have tried to contact Australian Attorney General George Brandis to drum up their support to speed up the legal process," he revealed. At the same time, the government of Indonesia has also filed a lawsuit against the Thailand-based PT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) with the Central Jakarta District Court. The government of Indonesia has filed the lawsuit for a compensation of Rp27.4 trillion for the environmental damage caused by the oil spill. The lawsuit filed on May 3, 2017, is against Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production Australasia (PTTEP AA), which is based in Australia, and against Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production Public Company Limited and Petroleum Authority of Thailand Public Company Limited (PTT PCL), which are based in Thailand. Negotiations after the explosion had always ended in deadlock. In 2012, the Indonesian government stated that PTT EP had no good intention of resolving the case. Instead of paying a compensation, the company, which operated in the sea off Australia, said in its website, www.pttep.com, that there was an oil spill from the Montara mill into the Indonesian territory, quoting the result of an independent research. PTT EP also released a statement saying the oil spill caused only insignificant damage to the ecosystem in Timor Sea. The Montara wellhead, operated by subsidiary PTTEP Australasia, caught fire in 2009, leaking hundreds of thousands of liters of oil off the northern coast of Western Australia, according to media reports at the time. The incident was considered one of Australia's worst oil disasters, and PTTEP was fined A$510,000 ($394,000) by a Darwin court after pleading guilty in 2011 to charges related to workplace health and safety and failure to maintain good oilfield practice. Indonesia alleges, however, that the oil spill also contaminated seawater and coastal areas in the nation's East Nusa Tenggara province. It filed a lawsuit in a Jakarta court against PTT, PTTEP, and PTTEP Australasia, seeking 27.4 trillion rupiah ($2.1 billion) in damages and restoration costs. Besides polluting seawater, the incident also damaged mangrove forests, coral reefs, and seaweed fields in East Nusa Tenggara province, Panjaitan described. PTTEP noted in an emailed statement that it was aware of reports about Indonesia's lawsuit, but that it "has not been served with proceedings and has not received any notification of the substance or extent of the claim." PTTEP Australasia maintains its position that "no oil from Montara had reached the shores of Indonesia and that no long-term damage was done to the environment in the Timor Sea," the company said. In a separate class action suit, around 15 thousand Indonesian seaweed farmers are seeking more than A$200 million ($152 million) from PTTEP Australasia to cover damages from the spill.