Ms. Thitipat Chotdechachainun, Secretary to the Minister of Energy, disclosed that officials detected a spot where oil was seeping from an oil transport pipeline in the Rama 3 area, after excavation revealed an underground cavity and oil mixed in the old drainage system. The pipeline system's operating licence is held by BAFS Pipeline Transportation Co., Ltd., or BPT, while Bangkok Fuel Pipeline Transportation and Logistics Co., Ltd., or BFPL, part of the Bangchak group of companies, is the pipeline system operator. Both companies must take responsibility for all damage incurred and must act in accordance with the orders of the Department of Energy Business. The Department of Energy Business has set out a three-part action plan: expediting the search for and repair of the damaged points, with the pipeline owner required to submit maintenance and repair history records for inspection; conducting a Pigging Test along the entire pipeline route of approximately 32 kilometres, under which any leakage or abnormality found requires operations to stop immediately; and preparing a plan to replace the pipeline and adjust the route in areas where defects or flaws are found, especially where the pipeline runs beneath bridge piers or high-risk structures, in order to prevent the problem from recurring in the future.
Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services Public Company LimitedBPT, the pipeline licence holder, must cover all damage and follow the Department of Energy Business repair, pigging and pipeline-replacement orders after the Rama 3 oil leak.
Bangchak Corporation Public Company LimitedIts subsidiary BFPL, the pipeline operator, is held responsible for the Rama 3 leak and must comply with the Department of Energy Business action plan.
As pipeline operator BFPL must take responsibility for all damage and carry out the ordered repairs, pigging test and pipeline replacement.
