Oil leak from Sual power plant contained –official

The oil leak from the coal-fired Sual power plant in Pangasinan has been contained early on, with most of the oil remaining “within the plant premises,” a company official said Tuesday amid fears from residents of its effect on the environment.

In an interview with GMA News TV's “News To Go,” Froilan Romualdez III, head of the external affairs of Sual power plant, clarified that it was an oil leak, and not an oil spill, from a ruptured pipe in one of their facilities.

"Kahapon po ng madaling araw nagkaroon ng tagas sa isang pipe sa Sual Power Station. 'Yun pong tagas [was due to] wear-and-tear. By 3 a.m., na-contain na agad-agad, at most oil that was leaked remained within the plant premises. Kaunti lang 'yung nakaabot sa karagatan," Romualdez said.



A report from GMA News' “Saksi” Monday night said the sight of thick oil and dead fish startled residents in the area Monday morning.

The leak occurred near 700 fish cages, prompting residents to fear that it may affect local mariculture and marine fishing industries. The Sual mariculture park produces 20 metric tons of bangus and 10 metric tons of pompano mostly sold in Metro Manila.

According to Romualdez, the incident happened while they were starting up the power plant's Unit 1, which required the use of oil.

The rupture has been covered, he said, adding that they have also reported the incident to the Departments of Energy and Environment and Natural Resources.

Romualdez also said they are "conducting our investigation and accounting" on the said incident.

"Hindi pa po natin alam 'yung extent nu'ng insidente, pero as of yesterday at 4 p.m., we had an ocular inspection of the coastline... sa fish cages malapit sa planta, parang wala naman pong naapektuhan so far. We continue to investigate and look into the matter,” he said. —Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/KBK, GMA News