PTTEP, Australian unit ready to fight Indonesian claim of environmental damage following 2009 oil s
PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) and its subsidiary PTTEP Australasia (Ashmor Cartier), or PTTEP AA, are confident in the results of the environmental studies carried out following the 2009 oil spill in the Timor Sea, and stand ready to prove that there has been no damage as claimed by the Indonesian government and reported by the media.
Regarding a report of Indonesian assets of PTTEP and PTTEP AA being confiscated, both companies believe that such action cannot be taken under applicable laws.
PTTEP president and chief executive officer Somporn Vongvuthipornchai said on Tuesday: “PTTEP and PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd have not officially received the lawsuit documents and have prepared readiness to defend and proceed with the legal case. According to PTTEP AA’s legal advisers’ preliminary advice, the confiscation of assets of PTTEP and PTTEP AA could not be conducted based on applicable laws.”
Currently, PTTEP Netherlands Holding Cooperatie – another subsidiary of PTTEP – has one operating asset in Indonesia via an 11.5-per-cent interest in the Natuna Sea A Project.
The project’s total sales volume of natural gas is around 224 million cubic feet per day, with approximately 1,200 barrels per day of crude oil representing a net contribution of about 1 per cent to PTTEP’s total sales volume.
Indonesia is one of the strategic investment countries in which PTTEP plans to continuously invest.
However, due to the current lawsuit, PTTEP has decided to suspend its investment decision in potential projects in the country until the matter reaches a conclusion.
