Indonesia lifts PTT investment ban after Timor Sea spill payout
Indonesia lifts investment moratorium on Thailand's PTT after compensation for 2009 Timor Sea oil spill; firm commits $5 billion.
Indonesia has agreed to lift an investment moratorium on Thailand's PTT, clearing the way for the energy giant to commit around $5 billion to oil and gas exploration and production in the country.
The decision follows the company's payment of compensation related to a 2009 oil spill in the Timor Sea, according to Djoko Siswanto, chairperson of Indonesia's upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas.
Djoko made the announcement after meeting with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia on Tuesday.
The spill originated from the Montara wellhead, operated by PTT's subsidiary PTTEP Australasia, which caught fire in 2009 and leaked hundreds of thousands of litres of oil off the northern coast of Western Australia.
In 2017, the Indonesian government sued PTT for around $2 billion, alleging environmental damage had contaminated seawater and coastal areas in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Jakarta later stated in 2022 that PTT had agreed to pay 192.5 million Australian dollars (approximately $135.85 million) to affected fishermen and seaweed farmers in the region.
PTTEP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, which is a public holiday in Thailand.