Thai firm understating oil slick fallout: Greenpeace

[webfact]

Thai firm understating oil slick fallout: Greenpeace

KO SAMET, July 30, 2013 (AFP) - Environmentalists accused a Thai energy firm Tuesday of understating the fallout from a major pipeline leak as the navy warned the oil slick might reach the mainland.

Tourists were leaving as workers in protective suits used hoses, buckets and shovels to clean up blackened sand and waves of oil which washed ashore on a beach on the once-idyllic island of Ko Samet in the Gulf of Thailand.

PTT Global Chemical said it was close to removing the oil from Ao Phrao beach on the island, which lies in the protected Khao Laem Ya National Park off the eastern province of Rayong.

"The clean-up operation is 80 percent complete," said PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.

"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.

Conservationist group Greenpeace, however, warned much more work needed to be done.

"It's not true to claim that 80 percent of the work is done. There is a lot of oil still in the bay," Greenpeace campaigner Ply Pirom said.

"It's very disappointing that this global company has no emergency plan to deal with the crisis."

A naval commander said there was a risk the oil would wash ashore on the mainland.

"A thin film of oil may reach the mainland. It has started to go towards there," Vice Admiral Roongsak Sereeswad told AFP, adding: "It might take a week to control it."

The government said 600 workers, including military personnel and PTT staff, were engaged in the clean-up operation.

Some visitors have cut short their holidays on Ko Samet, a popular destination for weekend breaks for Bangkok residents.

According to the pipeline operator -- which is part of state-owned giant PTT -- 50,000 litres of oil gushed into the sea on Saturday about 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast. Some environmentalists fear the leak might have been even bigger.

PTT said the spillage came as crude oil from an Omani tanker moored offshore was being transferred to the pipeline for delivery to its refinery.

Greenpeace on Monday urged Thailand to end oil drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Thailand in light of the leak.

Conservationists have also voiced concern about the impact of the chemicals used to disperse the spill in an area frequented by fishermen.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-07-30

[JetsetBkk]

PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.

"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.

Would AFP kindly interview him again tomorrow, please?

Let's see what he has to say then.

[bigbamboo]

Perhaps if the PTT executive said "If everything is not back to normal by tomorrow as promised I will resign in shame." that might carry more conviction.

[Thai at Heart]

Why lie?

[webfact]

DARK DAY OF SAMET
Complaint filed against PTT for oil leak
The Nation

Photo : Watcharachai Klaipong

BANGKOK: -- The Marine Department today filed a complaint against PTT Global Chemical Plc over the ongoing crude oil leak from the undersea pipeline it owns and operates as a precautionary step to discourage the public company from not taking responsibility to clean the stains and later pay compensation.

Director General Sorrrasak Saensombat said total damage stemming from the stains along with losses in revenue from the tourism, business and fishery sectors had not been included in the suit, pending estimates from aggrieved parties.

He said the severity of the leak was at an intermediate level or Level 2 on a three-scale magnitude that requires state intervention in the salvaged and cleaning.

Level 3 is assigned to heaviest damage, which requires foreignsupported salvage and Level 1 to a moderate leakage that could be salvaged by the private sector.

The film from the leaked crude oil has reached the Rayong coast while the thick crude oil which has stained Ao Phrao (Phrao Bay) has been contained, Sorrrasak said, adding the tourist-frequented bay would be almost completely cleaned within the next few days, and the stains would disappear from the beach and the sea within one week.


-- The Nation 2013-07-30

[gemini81]

No spill has ever been restored the next day, c'mon how naïve do you think we are? All the eco life damaged beyond repair..he just lost all credibility. BP in the making..

[MikeOboe57]

PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.

"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.

Would AFP kindly interview him again tomorrow, please?

Let's see what he has to say then.

Well, he said: "We expect...", so if tomorrow the beach still looks like the inside of an oil tanker it must be the fault of the volunteers in the white suits who did not work properly.

[tingtongfarang]

Why lie?

Seems to be a thai trait....also thats his job.

[Briggsy]

PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.

"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.

Would AFP kindly interview him again tomorrow, please?

Let's see what he has to say then.

Good point however........

Firstly senior executives of Thai state enterprises are not interviewed nor do they answer questions from journalists, they hand out press releases, issued prepared statements and finally get their PR dept to deal with any interaction with the press.

Secondly Thai journalists are keenly aware of the status of important people within the Thai hierarchy and thus tend to self-censor, avoid asking challenging questions and avoid directly critical articles.

[MikeOboe57]

PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.

"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.

Would AFP kindly interview him again tomorrow, please?

Let's see what he has to say then.

Well, he said: "We expect...", so if tomorrow the beach still looks like the inside of an oil tanker it must be the fault of the volunteers in the white suits who did not work properly.

[pattjock]

He said tomorrow.

I guess that is the same thing as all the bars that have permanent signs saying "Free Beer Tomorrow"

Tomorrow never comes

[Thai at Heart]

Why lie?

Seems to be a thai trait....also thats his job.

Well there are lies and lies and this is a very bad one.

[jaltsc]

Why lie?

TIT. One loses less face caught in a lie than one does admitting he is at fault

[jaltsc]

He said tomorrow.

I guess that is the same thing as all the bars that have permanent signs saying "Free Beer Tomorrow"

Tomorrow never comes

However, he didn't say in which lifetime "tomorrow" will occur

[sandrabbit]

DARK DAY OF SAMET

Complaint filed against PTT for oil leak

The Nation

Photo : Watcharachai Klaipong

BANGKOK: -- The Marine Department today filed a complaint against PTT Global Chemical Plc over the ongoing crude oil leak from the undersea pipeline it owns and operates as a precautionary step to discourage the public company from not taking responsibility to clean the stains and later pay compensation.

Director General Sorrrasak Saensombat said total damage stemming from the stains along with losses in revenue from the tourism, business and fishery sectors had not been included in the suit, pending estimates from aggrieved parties.

He said the severity of the leak was at an intermediate level or Level 2 on a three-scale magnitude that requires state intervention in the salvaged and cleaning.

Level 3 is assigned to heaviest damage, which requires foreignsupported salvage and Level 1 to a moderate leakage that could be salvaged by the private sector.

The film from the leaked crude oil has reached the Rayong coast while the thick crude oil which has stained Ao Phrao (Phrao Bay) has been contained, Sorrrasak said, adding the tourist-frequented bay would be almost completely cleaned within the next few days, and the stains would disappear from the beach and the sea within one week.

-- The Nation 2013-07-30

as bad as the damage is this picture is pointless, I can walk down the beach every day and see more than 20 dead fish of different species washed ashore about 7km from Samet as the crow flies. should I start posting pictures of the fishing nets, sodium lamps & fluorescent tubes discarded by the Thai fishermen and that's without the rubbish left by the Thai weekend visitors. the resort/restaurant workers keep the beach clean in front of their pitches, without them it would be a tip.

[bigbamboo]

Next time I pull in at a PTT service station I think I'll ask if they could forget the pump dials and just ask them to estimate how much petrol they're putting in.

[colin2]

There is nothing wrong with oil and rubbish on the beaches !. Its the European and American vermin that I cant stand !.

[JetsetBkk]

There is nothing wrong with oil and rubbish on the beaches !. Its the European and American vermin that I cant stand !.

I've a feeling you won't last long here.

[hellodolly]

There is nothing wrong with oil and rubbish on the beaches !. Its the European and American vermin that I cant stand !.

Well you are not alone with that statement about American vermin.

There are a lot of Americans living here who agree with you about that.

The Vermin tend to make other contributing Americans look bad. Same as the Thai vermin make the Thai's look bad.

The line that got me was

"Conservationist group Greenpeace, however, warned much more work needed to be done."

There is no doubt in my mind that Greenpeace has good intentions and many different places that they apply them.

But when I see the word Greenpeace I know that they have an over stated environmental point of view on what ever it is they are commenting on.

If that is the best picture the Nation can come up with I would have to say what is the problem.

[noitom]

Just a few days ago the Thai navy was sailing full speed ahead out to sea and had it nailed.

[LuckyLew]

Yes they understand it ..

but as mentioned by some guy currently touring africa ..

thailand is not equiped to clean up this slight spill

[gemini81]

There is nothing wrong with oil and rubbish on the beaches !. Its the European and American vermin that I cant stand !.

Then I suspect we'll see you washed up along the shore with the dead fish soon.

[morpho]

Good grief!!! Who are these PTT guys trying to kid? Do they think everybody else is as stupid as they are????

[spidermike007]

Why lie?

That is a fabulously deep question. Some would ask why do so many Thai people have such a terrible aversion to "truth"? Do not even begin to mention "face". That is simply an excuse for a life of cowardice. I am looking for a real answer. Why can't something as simple as an oil spill be admitted, and reported correctly? It is quite obvious by now that the spill was closer to 50,000 barrels, rather than liters, or more. So, what is the issue here, and does lying in any way help? I mean some things can be covered up, and some cannot. When will some Thais learn that?

[hellodolly]

Why lie?

That is a fabulously deep question. Some would ask why do so many Thai people have such a terrible aversion to "truth"? Do not even begin to mention "face". That is simply an excuse for a life of cowardice. I am looking for a real answer. Why can't something as simple as an oil spill be admitted, and reported correctly? It is quite obvious by now that the spill was closer to 50,000 barrels, rather than liters, or more. So, what is the issue here, and does lying in any way help? I mean some things can be covered up, and some cannot. When will some Thais learn that?

If that picture is any indication I would have to say 50,000 liters.

The press press lie to sell news papers.

Not to hard to figure out.

Edited July 31, 2013 by hellodolly

[Cuban]

"Stupid farang!

Thai oil slick not same Farag oil-slick, Thai oil good for enviroment can increase speed for swimming fish and make more tourist opportunity.

We are the hub of good-oil-slick in ASEAN area!"

....a spokesman said.

[morpho]

"Stupid farang!

Thai oil slick not same Farag oil-slick, Thai oil good for enviroment can increase speed for swimming fish and make more tourist opportunity.

We are the hub of good-oil-slick in ASEAN area!"

....a spokesman said.

Really sad...but funny and true!

The Thai way is the ONLY way!

[rametindallas]

There is nothing wrong with oil and rubbish on the beaches !. Its the European and American vermin that I cant stand !.

Wow! If you can't stand them, leave. What's it like to live with all the hate inside you?

[paulmw]

Good grief!!! Who are these PTT guys trying to kid? Do they think everybody else is as stupid as they are????

One word YEP

[JetsetBkk]

PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.

"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.

Would AFP kindly interview him again tomorrow, please?

Let's see what he has to say then.

Any news? All cleaned up and lovely now, is it?