DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2014.605
title: Civil liability and compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation

description: Technological advancement and the increase in the demand for petroleum products will increase the possibility of incidents involving offshore oil exploration and exploitation in Thailand, leading to rising of marine oil pollution damage from such activities which is normally massive and has substantial impact upon marine environment and relevant natural resources. In this regard, appropriate civil liability and compensation regime is acceptable as one useful mechanism to recoup the damage and restore the damaged natural resources to their baseline. This thesis aims at studying on the US law and Thai law relating to civil liability and compensation for natural resource damages caused by oil pollution resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation to analyze relevant problems and to seek solutions to make compensation for natural resource damages for such case more practical, effectively and efficiently in Thailand.From the study, Thai law recognizes civil liability and compensation regime for natural resource damages caused by oil pollution from offshore oil exploration and exploitation and natural resource damages in this case is accepted as compensable. However the compensation is still, in practice, not effectively and efficiently enforceable in Thailand due to the problem on quantification of natural resource damages. This problem is also an obstacle for court to award the reasonable and fair compensation for natural resource damages.To solve the abovementioned problems, Thai law should adopt Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) of the US as the role model for establishment of natural resource damage assessment regulations for creating compensation ground against the operator of offshore oil exploration and exploitation who cause damage to natural resources. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment should promulgate the ministerial regulation by virtue of Sections 96 and 97 of the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535 to designate the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources as the primary government authorities and an NRDA committee in charge for natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) and establishment of a claim against the offshore oil operator. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources should further promulgate the Department’s NRDA regulations providing the NRDA process as well as the economic criteria and methods utilized to assess the natural resource damages caused by oil pollution resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation. With reference to court’s difficulty in quantification of natural resource damages, the President of the Supreme Court should issue the guideline for the court to award compensation in this case for the court’s standard practices. Moreover, the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535 should be amended to add financial security and a fund scheme against the offshore oil operator to ensure the payment of compensation for natural resources.