PTTGC pledges quick compensation for affected businesses

"Small-business owners severely affected by the crude-oil problem will be the first group to get compensation," PTTGC president Bowon Vongsinudom said yesterday.

Those business owners who are affected by the oil problem, not only on Koh Samet but elsewhere in Rayong province as well, are advised to file a complaint to the provincial administration’s office, he said.

However, he asked the affected owners not to file lawsuits against the company, as that would entail a time-consuming legal procedure before they could get full compensation.

"It would be better if we could talk together," he added.

Surong Bulakul, chief finance officer of PTTGC’s parent, PTT, and who serves as chairman of the Petroleum Refining Industry Club, said the company’s insurer had visited the location to evaluate the damage. It is expected to reach a conclusion soon.

PTT is willing to take responsibility and remedy the affected parties and the environment, he insisted.

Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said the Prevention and Elimination of Marine Pollution Caused by Oil Spill committee under the PM’s Office had appointed a subcommittee to oversee recovery operations and assess the damage caused by the spill.

The panel will be chaired by the Marine Department’s director-general, Sorrrasak Saensombat.

The subcommittee is tasked with supervising the recovery of the affected beach, assessing the damage, and improving the action plan for the elimination of marine pollution, which was developed in 2004.

The panel will have to submit the revised action plan for the full committee’s consideration within one month.

The minister said the Marine Department is also collecting data for claims for damages, consisting of the direct cost of oil-slick elimination by state agencies, as well as indirect costs, including the long-term impact on local residents, fishermen and tourism businesses.

Chadchart added that he personally did not want to see legal suits for compensation being drawn up. If all affected parties could talk with PTT, then lawsuits might be avoidable, he added.

Public information

The Prevention and Elimination of Marine Pollution Caused by Oil Spill committee’s meeting also assigned the Marine Department – with effect from this coming Monday – to be the sole centre for providing information to the public about the oil-spill situation, in order to minimise any confusion.

The minister said the decision had been taken after it was found that people did not have much trust in the information put out by PTT.

The department will launch a special website to provide the information and answer the public’s questions, such as on the amount of oil that had been leaked, he added.

Sorrrasak, meanwhile, said the department is collecting information from Rayong province and the Fishery Department on the impact of the disaster on the fishery sector.

He said Chadchart had urged the agency to press PTT to submit full details of the recovery plan to the department within two weeks, instead of at the end of this month as originally planned.

Newly appointed PTT chairman Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said PTT would have to strengthen its precautionary measures.

At a special meeting of the board on Monday, directors will also be updated by PTTGC executives on the latest situation.

He admitted that PTT had acted slowly on this, but this was because the company had thought PTTGC would be able to quickly contain the oil spill.

"It’s like an alarm clock, calling PTT to see how it should improve itself. My mission is to balance the three pillars – economy, environment and society," he said.

This will be stressed again at the monthly PTT board meeting today, he added.

In a related matter, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (Osmep) will join with the Industrial Promotion Department and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand to provide assistance measures to SMEs affected by the oil spill, said Osmep’s acting deputy director-general, Chawan Svasti-xuto.

Once the three organisations reach a conclusion on the measures – which will include financial assistance and seeking new markets – they will be considered at an urgent meeting of the Osmep committee.

Osmep is working with related parties to examine the impact of the oil spill on SMEs in the area.

Rayong has 32,422 SMEs, and the agency will first establish how many of them are in Koh Samet, said Chawan.