Unocal accused of covering up offshore oil spill
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An environmental non-governmental organization accused U.S. oil company Unocal of covering up an offshore oil spill at its West Seno deepwater well in the Makassar Straits early this month, saying the company was slow in giving out information about something that could clearly threaten the public and harm the environment.
Meanwhile, Unocal claimed that it had no intention of covering up the incident but was waiting until a thorough study on the incident had been completed so that clear information would be available.
According to the Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM), the incident occurred on Sept. 5 at the Ranggas 6 well, around 75 kilometers out in the Makassar Straits. But Unocal only issued a news release about the incident on Sept. 27.
"Unocal is covering up this offshore oil spill incident," Aminuddin, JATAM media and public relations manager, said in a press release distributed late last week.
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.
The West Seno project is the first deepwater oil field in Indonesia. It is located in the Makassar Straits, about 190 kilometers northeast of Balikpapan, 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.
Satria Djaya, Unocal's manager for communications and government relations, rebuffed the allegation saying that it was not an offshore oil 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 which looks like an oil spill when observed from afar.
He added that the company had reported the oil sheen to the government shortly 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.
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.
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.