Subject: Jakarta Post – Unocal Deepwater Drilling Spill<\/p>\n
Unocal accused of covering up offshore oil spill
\nSource: Jakarta Post, October 01, 2002
\nBy Fitri Wulandari
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
An environmental non-governmental organization accused U.S. oil company Unocal of covering up an offshore oil spill at its West Seno deepwaterJaka well in the Makassar Straits early this month, saying the company was slow in giving out information about something that could clearly threaten the ublic and harm the environment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Unocal claimed that it had no ntention of covering up the incident but was waiting until a thorough study on the incident had been
\ncompleted so that clear information would be vailable. According to the Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM), the incident ccurred on Sept. 5 at the Ranggas 6 well, around 75 kilometers out in the akassar Straits. But Unocal only issued a news release about the incident n Sept. 27. “Unocal
\nis covering up this offshore oil spill incident,”\u00a0 Aminuddin, JATAM media and public relations manager, said in a press release distributed late
\nlast week.<\/p>\n
He said the West Seno project could be the start of a disaster for the environment and people around Tanjung Santan beach. JATAM also said that the West Seno project had violated the law as it failed to involve the local community in its environmental impact assessment.<\/p>\n
The West Seno project is the first deepwater oil field in Indonesia. It is located in the Makassar Straits, about 190 kilometers northeast of
\nBalikpapan, East Kalimantan. The offshore oil field lies in waters of between 732 meters and 1,000 meters in depth. The field was first discovered in 1997 and it is hoped to start oil production in 2003. The project is expected to generate more than US$1 billion in taxes and revenue during its lifetime.<\/p>\n
Satria Djaya, Unocal’s manager for communications and government relations, rebuffed the allegation saying that it was not an offshore
\noil spill but rather oil sheen. However, he did admit that the sheen was first observed on Sept. 5. Oil sheen is a thin layer of hydrocarbon
\nwhich looks like an oil spill when observed from afar. He added that the company had reported the oil sheen to the government
\nshortly after it was discovered. “The sheen was first observed on Sept. 5, and we reported it to the State Implementing Body for Upstream Oil and Gas Activities (BP Migas) and the Directorate General of Oil and Gas (MIGAS) on Sept. 7, as well as to the Kutai Kartanegara and East Kutai regency administrations,” Satria told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
Satria argued that it took time to release information to the public as underwater research was needed to make sure the sheen did come from West Seno. “The research concluded that there was a tiny leak in the casing but we are working to repair it. We released the information as soon as we found out about this,” he argued. According to Satria, Unocal had sent samples of the oil sheen to the U.S. to determine whether it posed a threat to the environment.<\/p>\n
JATAM called on the government to suspend the project saying that it could pose threats to the community and environment. “The evidence shows that for thirty years Unocal has been causing environmental damage and misery to the people in East Kalimantan,” Aminuddin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Subject: Jakarta Post – Unocal Deepwater Drilling Spill Unocal accused of covering up offshore oil spill Source: Jakarta Post, October 01, 2002 By Fitri Wulandari Jakarta An environmental non-governmental organization accused U.S. oil company Unocal of covering up an offshore oil spill at its West Seno deepwaterJaka well in the Makassar Straits early this month, … Continue reading Jakarta Post: Unocal accused of covering up a Deepwater Oil Spill<\/span>