I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record – every week, I’m writing about some new oil spill and the havoc it wreaks. When will the world learn?
This past Saturday, a rupture in a pipeline operated by PTT Global Chemical spilled roughly 13,000 gallons (or 50,000 liters) of crude oil into the Gulf of Thailand.
The spill washed up off Samet Island, a resort that draws a million tourists annually to its exotic beaches.
"This is a failure to solve a problem by a company that earns hundreds of billions [of dollars] every year, using the country's natural resources," says Sathit Pitutecha, a member of Thailand’s parliament. "I wouldn't criticize if this was the first time, but it's the fourth time already. Now the people of Rayong have to bear the burden of risk from the industrial sector."
That’s right – it’s the FOURTH spill the company has had to answer for. Back in 2009, a subsidiary of PTT was involved in the Montara oil spill, one of Australia's worst oil disasters.
Thursday, authorities claimed that oil slicks remained onshore. PTT Global Chemical flew oil spill management experts from Singapore to the site, but failed to stop the spill from spreading.
“We've worked day and night to clean up the bay," says Boworn Vongsinudom, President of PTTGC. "It was supposed to be finished, as we aimed, on the third day, but more oil came in from another spot, so we had to take care of it, too."
Stop Global Warming, an environmental advocacy group based out of Thailand, is accusing the company of being ill-informed and ill-prepared for the disaster.
"The transfer of crude oil through the pipeline takes place every day, but when an oil spill happens, PTTGC tackled it with unbelievably limited resources," claims Srisuwan Janya, head of SGW. "This shows their solutions are inefficient and not enough."
PTT is Thailand's largest energy supplier and one of the largest oil and gas conglomerates in Southeast-Asia.
When will the world learn? Fossil fuels are simply too dangerous to lead us into the future. Let’s stop reading about disasters and death, and let’s start reading about technological innovation.
To start, visit nrglab.asia, and check out our slate of alternative energy projects that are sure to take the world by storm. A good storm, that is.
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