Fossil Energy – oil spill
Hundreds of workers set up oil barriers along beach fronts in Thailand’s eastern Rayong province on Friday as authorities raced to limit the environmental damage from gallons of oil that leaked from an underwater pipeline earlier that week.
The leak from a pipeline owned by Star Petroleum started late on Tuesday and was brought under control here a day later after spilling an estimated 50,000 litres here (13,209 gallons) of oil into the ocean 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) from Thailand’s east coast.
A 47 square kilometre area of the sea has been impacted and oil slick drifted close to Rayong’s coastline on Friday, a satellite image from the government’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) showed.
The navy, which is working to contain the spill at sea, said it may take over a month to restore beach areas affected.
The Thai government has filed an official complaint to seek compensation for the damages the oil spill has caused, deputy transport minister Atirat Ratanasate told reporters on Friday.
