The Bangkok Post reported that ongoing oil exploration in the Gulf of Thailand, designed to cope with Thailand's rising demand for oil and gas, and enable the country to enjoy energy self sufficiency, is safe and poses no negative impact on environment.

Mr Kurujit Nakhonthap director general of Mineral Fuels Department said that tourism operators on Koh Samui off the southern province of Surat Thani, a favorite destination for tourists in Thailand, have objected to drilling and exploring for petroleum in the Gulf for fear that the actions might affect the environment in the area.

Mr Kurujit said that oil exploration and production in the Gulf have been conducted for over 35 years and there is a need for exploration to continue as Thailand wants to depend less on oil imports, and produces only 40% of its total consumption.

Reasoning that oil exploration in the Gulf is different to that being carried out in the Gulf of Mexico as exploration there is 40 to 100 nautical miles offshore at a depth of 30 to 80 metres along with low pressure and installation of blow out preventers and safety valves, tourism operators on Koh Samui should not be too much worried, Mr Kurujit said.

He said that most importantly, the Gulf of Thailand contains mainly natural gas while the Gulf of Mexico contains crude oil at about 1.6 kilometers beneath and therefore has high pressure. Therefore, chances for oil leaks in the Gulf of Thailand are very slim, unlike the Gulf of Mexico.

He was referring to the current oil leak from a blowout Gulf of Mexico well owned by BP, a British energy giant firm. The US government estimates the well is leaking a maximum of 60,000 barrels a day while independent estimates have been much higher.

Mr Kurujit said confidently that more than 5,000 wells have been drilled in the Gulf of Thailand over nearly 40 years past and no accident affecting the environment has ever occurred.

(Sourced from www.bangkokpost.com)