|
Timor sea oil spill prompts fear of disaster unfolding
Published on October 27, 2009 by oilprices · No CommentsTimor sea oil spill prompts fear of a disaster unfolding as Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production Pcl delayed a fourth attempt due today to plug an Australian well that may have spewed 27,000 barrels of oil into areas inhabited by dolphins, sea turtles and humpback whales. PTTEP, Thailand’s only publicly traded oil explorer, has failed in three attempts to plug the leak that started Aug. 21. It has estimated the well has been spilling 300 to 400 barrels of oil a day into the Timor Sea.
“We’ve got an environmental disaster unfolding,” Gilly Llewellyn, Sydney-based conservation manager at WWF-Australia, said by telephone today. Dolphins, birds, sea snakes and other marine life have been seen swimming in a slick from the field off the northwestern coast, the group said in an Oct. 23 report.
Bangkok-based PTTEP said today a bid to intercept a 25 centimeter diameter steel well casing 2,600 meters (1.6 miles) below the seabed was now likely later in the week, after drilling equipment became stuck on Oct. 24 and caused a delay. On Oct. 25, PTTEP said it planned to make the attempt today.
The Thai company met yesterday with rival oil companies in a bid to find a way to stem the Montara field leak, the Perth-based West Australian reported, without citing anyone. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Apache Corp. and Texan oil-well firefighting specialist Boots & Coots, were among those at the meeting, the paper said. Woodside offered in late August rigs, boats and experts to assist PTTEP.