BP: PTT goes on public relations

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

June 3, 1998


                                     


              PTT goes on
              public relations
              offensive

              Claims impact from Yadana pipeline
              eased

              The Petroleum Authority of Thailand has done several things to
              ease the impact of its Yadana gas pipeline project on the
              environment, its public relations chief Songkiart Tansamrit said
              yesterday.

              The PTT's first priority was to take care of people affected by
              the project, said Mr Songkiart. He added the PTT had fully
              compensated a total of 1,366 people whose land had been
              expropriated for the project.

              It had compensated 272 out of a total of 274 families whose
              homes became damaged as a result of the project construction.
              Settlement of the remaining two cases was under way, he said.

              Also, he said, the PTT had arranged to have insurance coverage
              for people living near the pipeline route. The insurance offered
              US$10 million (about 400 million baht) in maximum
              compensation during the construction of the project, and US$30
              million (about 1.2 billion baht) during the post-construction
              period.

              Moreover, the PTT had launched projects to return the
              construction sites to their normal pre-construction conditions,
              including reforestation of 10,600 rai of land and a 30,000-rai
              wildlife and forest preservation project along the pipeline route.

              Mr Songkiart said protests by environmentalists had delayed the
              pipeline construction temporarily, resulting in an additional cost
              of US$40 million (about 1.6 billion baht).

              The contractor, Tasco-Mannessmann Co, would bear the
              additional cost, he added.

              Despite the delay, he said, the Thai section of the pipeline would
              be completed for gas delivery on July 1 as scheduled. The
              270-km pipeline will supply gas from Burma's Yadana gas field
              in the Gulf of Martaban via Thailand's Kanchanaburi province to
              a power plant in Ratchaburi province.




                                     




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