INDONESIA TO SUE PTTEP EIGHT YEARS AFTER MONTARA OIL SPILL by Fardah

 Jakarta, March 28, 2017 (Antara) - Indonesia has decided to file a civil lawsuit against PTT Exploration and Production Company (PTTEP) Australasia in April 2017 over an oil spill in Timor Sea in East Nusa Tenggara that occurred eight years ago.

        The explosion that took place on August 21, 2009, in the Montara oil field, which was operated by Thailand-based PTTEP Australasia in Timor Sea, had resulted in an oil spill that contaminated the Timor Sea.

        Following the incident, fishermen in Oesapa in the district of Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, found thousands of dead fish floating in the Timor Sea.

       During the August-November 2009 period, the Montara well leaked uncontrollably for more than 70 days, destroying fish stocks in the Indonesian territory. 
   The explosion in August 2009 spilled 500 thousand liters of crude oil per day into the sea, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

        As a consequence, 40 million liters of crude oil were released into the Australian waters and eventually spread to the Indonesian maritime area. An area spanning some 70,341.76 square kilometers of the Timor Sea bordering the East Nusa Tenggara Province was polluted.

        In mid-January of 2010, the leak was finally plugged and secured permanently. However, during the first year of the Montara oil spill-triggered pollution, fish catches from the Timor Sea waters dropped by 80 percent.

Year-Ender: MONTARA OIL SPILL VICTIMS STILL AWAITING PROMISED COMPENSATION by Fardah

     Jakarta, Dec 19, 2011 (ANTARA) - East Nusatenggara (NTT) fishermen who lost their livelihoods by the Montara oil spill in 2009 are still waiting for the promised compensations, two years after the disaster.
     An explosion that occurred in the Montara oil field on August 21, 2009 caused an oil pipe to burst and the resulting oil spill to contaminate the Timor Sea.

MONTARA OIL SPILL VICTIMS STILL WAITING FOR COMPENSATION by Fardah

       Jakarta, Oct 6, 2011 (ANTARA) - Victims of the Montara oil spill in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have been waiting for compensation from PTTEP Australasia, the Thai company operating the Montara oil field, for more than two years.
       An explosion occurred in the Montara oil field on August 21, 2009 causing an oil pipe to burst and the resulting oil spill to contaminate the Timor Sea in NTT Province. As a consequence, 40 million liters of crude oil were released into Australian waters and eventually into Indonesian waters. Some 70,341.76 square kilometers of the Timor Sea part of which borders on NTT province was polluted.

WILL NTT FISHERMEN FINALLY BE COMPENSATED FOR TIMOR SEA POLLUTION? by Fardah

    Jakarta, July 28, 2011 (ANTARA) - Will it be good news for East Nusa Tenggara fishermen after they have waited for about two years to receive compensation payment for material losses caused by the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea?
    Well, they have to wait at least until the Indonesian government and PTTEP Australasia, the Thai company operating the Montara oil field, sign a Memorandum of Understanding on compensation for pollution in the Timor Sea.

GOVT URGED TO PURSUE CLAIM ON MONTARA OIL SPILL by Fardah

       Jakarta, Nov 16, 2010 (ANTARA) - Although Indonesia`s claim for compensation on the Timor Sea oil spill has been rejected by the Montara oil field`s operator, PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) Australasia, an NGO has urged the government not to give up but to continue pursuing its demand.
        "Indonesia must not keep quiet about the matter but follow it up," Riza Damanik, secretary general of the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) said in Jakarta on Monday (Nov 15).
        "It`s regrettable that PTTEP has twice refused the claim amounting to US$2.4 billion presented by Indonesia for the oil spill in the Timor Sea," Damanik said.

WAITING FOR AUSTRALIA'S GOOD WILL ON MONTARA OIL SPILL By Fardah

       Jakarta, Jan. 25, 2010 (ANTARA) - Australia must have felt great relief when a leak at an oil rig in its Montara field was permanently plugged but neighboring countries like Indonesia and Timor Leste may continue to bear the consequences of the sea pollution the leak caused.
       In mid-January 2010, the leak following a blowout at the West Atlas rig operated by PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) Australasia, a unit of top Thai energy company PTTEP, was finally plugged and secured permanently. But the leak had allowed hydrocarbons to spill into the Timor Sea between August and November last year.

News Focus: MONTARA OIL SPILL STOPPED BUT CONCERN CONTINUES By Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov. 10, 2009 (ANTARA) - The East Nusa Tenggara authorities seeming to be still concerned about the possible impact of Australia's Montara oil spill, despite an assurance that the leakage has been stopped.

        When Amien Rais, former chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) visited East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which shares marine border with Australia, he was told about the oil spill and the provincial authorities' concern over the unresponsive attitude of the central government.