Oil Search not responsible for water contamination

OIL Search Ltd’s asset manager Phil Caldwell said in a statement claims by the landowners that two of their drinking water sources were being polluted by Oil Search’s drilling operations at Kutubu Two were unsubstantiated.
Mr Caldwell said Oil Search was aware of the allegations made by the landowner group and had been openly discussing these issues and sharing data with the landowners and the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) since August this year.
He said Oil Search had also investigated these claims and had been unable to substantiate them through an in-house and independent testing of water samples from the relevant creeks.
He added Oil Search performed toxicity tests on its drilling which proved the creeks were essentially non-toxic in nature.
“Test results from water samples collected before, during and after drilling ceased had found no significant traces of drilling mud chemicals against background levels and all measurements were within PNG and World Health Organisation raw water guidelines.
“Impacts such as the turbidity described in the landowners report are not uncommon in the Lake Kutubu area due to seasonal variations in rainfall and runoff,” Mr Caldwell said.
He added the DEC was notified by Oil Search as part of the normal operating procedures.
Mr Caldwell said Oil Search understood that the DEC was intending to carry out its own independent investigation into the allegations and will fully cooperate with the investigation.
Last Friday, representatives of people living near the Yakerabo and Gese creeks near Lake Kutubu gave 14 days to Oil Search to respond to their claims, otherwise they had threatened to shut off the road access to Oil Search’s operations.
The landowners issued a statement after their consultant made a presentation of his findings on water quality of the creek to officials from Department of Petroleum, representatives of the media and Oil Search.
The consultant, a third year Bachelor of Education student majoring in physics Reuben Mora declared from his sampling of water quality in the two creeks that chemicals from drilling from Kutubu Two did flow to both Yakerabo and Gese from June 4-17.
Mr Mora conducted his study after the landowners engaged him to do water sampling when unfamiliar substances were coming out of drinking and washing water sources from the two creeks.
Mr Mora said his study proved that after drilling three months ago the water samples showed that the highest concentration of chemicals in the water detected was 110.8 mg/kg which is harmful to humans and animals.
According to Mr Mora, scientists have proven that the chemical barium, which was used to drill for oil exceeding 2 mg/l, is harmful to humans and animals.
Mr Mora said excess of barium affected the rates of the heart beat, blood pressure and could even kill.
The landowner representatives who attended Mr Mora’s presentation to DPE last Friday had warned that Oil Search would have to address this issue or else pay them compensation of K20 million for damage to their water.