Rayong Oil Spill Blamed On Faulty Pipe
By Khaosod English


An official during the cleanup operation on Koh Samet, 30 July 2013 (AFP)

BANGKOK: -- The PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) has identified "pipe fatigue" as the cause of the oil spill in Gulf of Thailand last July.

The oil slick occurred close to the popular island of Koh Samet in Rayong province, and its effect has blackened some of its famous beaches, causing considerable environmental and economic damages to the island.

According to Mr. Bovorn Wongsin-Udom, CEO of the company, laboratory tests and researches conducted by Engineer Institute of Thailand and Chulalongkorn University confirmed that the incident was caused by failure in the pipeline which transported the oil.

Prior to the incident, Mr. Bovorn said, the steel pipe had suffered previous rift on its steel wall, which lays underneath the outer rubber wall. Engineers had repaired the damage but the fatigued strength of the pipe eventually caused the pipe to tear apart again later, said Mr. Bovorn.

“The problem clearly indicates an error in pipe designing process”, said the boss of the PTTGC, which is partially owned by the state, adding that PTTGC is not responsible for the said error.

However, even though the fault rests with the pipe designs, PTTGC will not sue the pipe manufacturer, as the insurers of the company have already reimbursed PTTGC for the costs related to the incidents. The insurer is solely responsible for its own lawsuit against the pipe supplier, he added.

Mr. Bovorn insisted that PTTGC is looking forward to preventing any re-occurrence of such disastrous situation. The company has changed the pipe supplier and started an ongoing study into the construction of double-walled pipe, he said.

Additional procedures such as stopping the pipeline operation when sea waves rise over 2.5 metres are also being considered, according to the CEO.

As for the effort to compensate those affected by the oil spill, Mr. Bovorn said the company has consulted with academia and related governmental authorities, while Rayong Provincial Authority has established a tri-party commission to resolve any disputes.

"So far, 15,000 local residents had signed up for compensation from PTT, and two-third had received financial support in total of 500 million baht," Mr. Bovorn said, adding that the rest is upon examination and document reviewing process to make sure that the compensation budget will go to those who are truly in need.

Businessowners and vendors in Koh Samet and surrounding area have previously accused the PTTGC of downplaying or delaying their demands for compensation.

PTTGC has also spent undisclosed amount of fund on advertisement in the media to encourage the tourists to return to Koh Samet, but many tourists have reportedly stayed away from the once-popular island.

Source: http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNNE9EYzBORGswTWc9PQ==


-- Khaosod English 2014-01-03

Clearly its bad spirits messing around down there.

Expect annual faulty pipes after all that compo.

Makes you wonder what condition the rest of the pipes are in ....

How old is that pipe?

Mine is 66 years old and still functioning.

Must have been wrong usage

IT'S the pipes fault, it's design, --it was repaired but failed later.

When it was repaired didn't that give the company a warning that a design fault was already there.

Whose engineers repaired it ????? if it was faulty it should have been replaced as in NOT merchandisable quality. OR the pipe manufacturer should have done the repairs.

Not enough info as usual as to who did the bogy repairs.

I did not that so many people had received SUPPORT re the spill. NOT PAID IN FULL why ???? disgusting. NOTE please the company is part owned by the State.

How old is that pipe?

Mine is 66 years old and still functioning.

Must have been wrong usage

Have you used outer rubber coat ???

IT'S the pipes fault, it's design, --it was repaired but failed later.

When it was repaired didn't that give the company a warning that a design fault was already there.

Whose engineers repaired it ????? if it was faulty it should have been replaced as in NOT merchandisable quality. OR the pipe manufacturer should have done the repairs.

Not enough info as usual as to who did the bogy repairs.

I did not that so many people had received SUPPORT re the spill. NOT PAID IN FULL why ???? disgusting. NOTE please the company is part owned by the State.

If you worked and lived on Koh Samet but you were registered in another province, even if you could prove you lived and worked on Samet and your income had been disrupted by the spill . . . no payout.

Hit a lot of people very hard. Some of those expecting payouts also borrowed and spent the money on the basis they were going to get a payout too. A real mess.

There concern is only for the day, after that. Hard luck.

“The problem clearly indicates an error in pipe designing process”

The problem clearly indicates a maintenance program that was either non-existent or..siphoned off as tea money.

I swer, I have never seen a maintenance program anywhere I have worked here, but my work hasn't been extensive, so I can only judge by the sang taos, the city pipes, swimming pools, the khlongs, and...oh, never mind.

Maybe there is no Thai word for maintenance.

If it aint broke its fine.

Contradictory.

It was the design at fault, not the pipe.....

If I was the pipe manufacturer I would sue for defamation instantly.

Off course

It's not my fault. A typical Thai response. Failure to take responsibility for one's own decisions and making others responsible for their happiness - are Thai characteristics.

Well of course. There are no faulty breaks or wet unfamiliar roads to blame it on.

“The problem clearly indicates an error in pipe designing process”

The problem clearly indicates a maintenance program that was either non-existent or..siphoned off as tea money.

I swer, I have never seen a maintenance program anywhere I have worked here, but my work hasn't been extensive, so I can only judge by the sang taos, the city pipes, swimming pools, the khlongs, and...oh, never mind.

Maybe there is no Thai word for maintenance.

Shhh...

the ex wives club may catch onto the idea of income stream in the pipeline

Contradictory.

It was the design at fault, not the pipe.....

If I was the pipe manufacturer I would sue for defamation instantly.

Which is probably why CNN named the manufacturer, but this article doesn't.

Contradictory.

It was the design at fault, not the pipe.....

If I was the pipe manufacturer I would sue for defamation instantly.

Which is probably why CNN named the manufacturer, but this article doesn't.

Well did the CNN story say it was caused by a bad design of the system or a bad pipe.

I suppose someone better set the ball rolling........

This is all Thaksin's fault.!!

(note to self - sit back and watch the fireworks)

Faulty pipe caused by faulty tendering process that includes faulty accounting and faulty products?

Just more typical garbage from PTTGC. if it was indeed due to a faulty pipe then why did it take so long to come up with this rhetoric, Furthermore why was this section of pipe repaired and not replaced. Regarding the statement that they would not be taken action against the manufacturer ,at last someone is showing some common sense as they would have little chance in a successful suit after they had conducted repairs on the failure point. They need to send their team back to school in order to understand that plausible denial is only an adequate defense if indeed it is plausible..

Here we are again...the responsibles don't want to lose face...although they clearly lost it. The never ending Thai story...

From what I have seen on the fields off the coast here.......this is only a taste of what's to come....

Two new words to add to Thai Business Vocabulary: Inspection and Maintenance !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pipe fatigue, looool

because thais do not know the words: quality control & maintenance

From what I have seen on the fields off the coast here.......this is only a taste of what's to come....

Nice try at bashing the oil producers. We've actually got a pretty good record on the producing side in Thai waters.

EVERY major spill in Thai waters has been the result of transporting oil around Thailand, not producing oil in Thai waters. The Rayong spill was imported oil from the Middle East being offloaded at a Thai refinery.

That risk is not going away until everyone in Thailand gives up their scooters and cars, and quits expecting any deliveries by truck. And pigs fly, and Thaksin and Suthep make nice, with Yingluck serving the lemonade.

I'd hazard a guess that if the company were 'foreign', actions/compensations would have been on a far greater scale...

Bet they worked out some deal with the manufacturer to "take the blame" and they will reimburse them for any loss.

From what I have seen on the fields off the coast here.......this is only a taste of what's to come....

Oh please enlighten us, what have you see ?

Further what failed in incident talked about wasn't a "pipe line" per se it was as loading/unloading hose and from I under stand from the info I have seen, these hoses are suppose to be replaced every 5 years, and in fact this particular one failed at year 3

Seems to be quite a bit of mid information in this report

From what I have seen on the fields off the coast here.......this is only a taste of what's to come....

Nice try at bashing the oil producers. We've actually got a pretty good record on the producing side in Thai waters.

EVERY major spill in Thai waters has been the result of transporting oil around Thailand, not producing oil in Thai waters. The Rayong spill was imported oil from the Middle East being offloaded at a Thai refinery.

That risk is not going away until everyone in Thailand gives up their scooters and cars, and quits expecting any deliveries by truck. And pigs fly, and Thaksin and Suthep make nice, with Yingluck serving the lemonade.

The other fact, there are no oil pipelines coming into shore from the gulf, all the pipelines are gas, all oil production in the gulf, is tankered offshore