TESTS of fish around Total's natural gas platforms in the Gulf of
Thailand first showed they contained high levels of mercury, then showed
they contained low levels and are now being carried out for a third
time, according to well-placed sources.
Following the initial contradictory findings, a team of international
experts has been assembled to co-ordinate the latest survey, which
includes a sampling of the fish in Songkhla market to see if they too
are contaminated with mercury, a dangerous neurotoxin.
Officials from Total Exploration and Production Thailand have
repeatedly refused to speak to The Nation about the tests.
But observers say the results of the latest study will be crucial to
the future development of natural gas in the Gulf - not only in the
Bongkot Field currently run by Total, but also in the nearby Joint
Development Area, where Thailand and Malaysia are keen on drilling
for
more hydrocarbons.
Mercury contamination has become a growing problem in the gulf. The
heavy metal is found naturally in the gas and water pumped up from
deep
underground by natural gas producers Unocal and Total and then
discharged with their waste water into the sea.
Surveys have shown that nearly 12 per cent of the fish around Unocal's
Erawan platform contain mercury levels over the standard considered
safe for human consumption. The firm has recently reported some success
in reducing the level of mercury that it releases into the gulf.
But Total has never revealed its own findings on marine mercury
levels. Indeed, despite being warned about mercury contamination by
Unocal officials, Total apparently did not survey the situation around
its own
platforms until the issue was made public last year. The company
acknowledges in the May issue of PTIT Focus, an industry quarterly,
that
its first survey took place in 1996.
It also announced plans to pump its contaminated water back
underground into disused wells later this year at a cost of US$4 million
(Bt104 million), thereby eliminating mercury-contaminated discharges
into the
sea. This ''deep-well injection" technique has been criticised by some
environmentalists, who fear the toxic substances may still rise to
the
surface, but the process has been used elsewhere and has been approved
by the Department of Mineral Resources.
The PTIT Focus article did not say how much mercury Total found in
fish around its platforms or at Songkhla market - which could represent
a major threat both to public health and to fisheries exports - but
a
well-placed source says that the initial findings have been contradictory.
Initial fish samples from around the Total platforms were sent to a
lab in Kuala Lumpur for analysis last year, according to the source.
The
results showed mercury levels were higher than the standard for edible
fish set by the World Health Organisation, in some cases as much as
50
per cent higher. Further fish samples were then purchased from Songkhla
market and the analysis reportedly produced ''even higher figures".
However, an audit of the lab subsequently called into doubt the
validity of these results, the source explained. Apparently, the
analysis looked at the mercury content of the entire fish, including
the liver
where toxic substances are usually stored. Proper analysis is only
supposed to
look at the wet muscle tissue of a fish. A second firm based in the
US
was then approached to study the remaining fish samples and it allegedly
found mercury levels below the standard.
To set the record straight, Total has now gathered a team of Thai and
international specialists to form a Marine Expert Mercury Environment
Panel to carry out a new survey, several sources confirmed. An industry
professional familiar with the current survey expressed confidence
it is
being carried out properly. Samples have already reportedly been
collected from Songkhla market and around the platforms and sent to
different labs in different countries for analysis. Results are not
expected for
at least a month.
Total's operation is smaller than Unocal's and has only been in
operation a few years, so mercury levels are not expected to be as
severe. But Total's lack of transparency surrounding the survey may
cause the
results to be viewed with suspicion.
The Thailand Environment Institute, an independent think-tank, was
asked to serve as an observer on the panel, but declined to participate
because it was not included from the beginning. The institute declined
to comment on the issue.
There is some indication that Total has been under pressure to address
the situation by its partners in the Bongkot venture: the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand Exploration & Production Plc (PTTEP), which
is the
largest shareholder with a 40-per cent stake, British Gas, which
controls 20 per cent in the venture, Norway's Statoil with a 10-per
cent stake
and Total owns the remaining 30 per cent.
PTTEP is due to take over the operation of the Bongkot field next year
and is apparently concerned that it may become responsible for the
mercury problem.