PTT 'hiding the truth' of oil spill

PTT 'hiding the truth' of oil spill

The amount of oil that leaked from a PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) pipeline on Saturday was much more than the 50,000 litres the company admits to, a Democrat MP for Rayong province claimed on Monday.

Satit Pituthecha said if the company's figure was correct, then the quantity of dispersants authorities have been using should be enough to clean up the spill.

On the contrary, the oil slick from the incident has spread over a large area, reaching Mae Ramphang beach and parts of Samet island.

Mr Satit said it was not true that the oil spill had been contained. The incident had caused severe damage to Rayong’s tourism and to the environment, which would take at least six months to recover, he said.

He said that in addition to not coming clean about the extent of the leak,  PTTGC also did not have any clear  plan on how to combat it.

The oppostion MP also lashed out at the government, saying it had not taken a needed hands-on approach to the problem. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment did not take any action, asserting that PTTGC had the situation under control, he said.

“When there’s an oil spill in the United States, its president addresses the problem himself. In Thailand, we can’t even find a minister who will take charge,” he said. 

Mr Satit said the government needs to step in because PTTGC, being the one that caused the oil spill, would probably try to conceal information regarding the incident in order to protect itself from lawsuits.

PTTGC and the Royal Thai Navy on Sunday said the oil slick off Rayong province had been contained and was  unlikely to cause environmental damage. That has proved to be incorrect.

Oil leaked from a PTTGC pipeline that supplies crude to its refinery when a tanker was unloading its cargo of crude on Saturday morning, 20km southeast of the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong. 

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