Petronas accused of environmental ‘catastrophe’

Oil giant Petronas is being accused of poisoning drinking water in the Thar Jath oilfield in South Sudan. A report on the allAfrica site notes that German organisation Sign of Hope claims the Malaysia-owned oil firm’s activities had put the lives of more than 600 000 people at risk. The report says dangerous substances such as barium and lead had leaked into water sources around the Thar Jath oilfield. ‘We are talking about an oil catastrophe,’ said Sign of Hope's vice-chairman Klaus Stieglitz.