UPDATE: Australia Oil Well on Fire
Australia’s Disastrous Oil Spill in Timor Sea Grows in Magnitude
PTTEP, the company responsible for the disaster, said they would plug the well and stop the leak by mid-October. They Lied.
PTTEP failed for the second time to stop the oil leak from the West Atlas rig which has been leaking for nearly two months. They don’t know when a third attempt to stop the leak could be made, if any.
Environmentalists have been calling for the company to reveal how much oil has leaked out so far and what actually caused the damage in the first place.
The rig’s operators now say that plugging the leak is an “extraordinarily complex” task, a statement which a far cry from their earlier assurances.
Sources say up to 500 barrels of oil a day have been leaking into the Timor Sea since the leak was first discovered on August 21.
Oil leak from West Atlas oil rig into Timor Sea. Photo: Chris Twomey/WAToday. Image may be subject to copyright. More Images …
Indonesian fishermen have reportedly found “thousands of dead fish.”
John Carey, a spokesman for the Pew Environment Group in Kimberley, Australia was quoted as saying that there was still too much mystery surrounding the cause of the leak.
“We are deeply concerned,” he said.
“We have been given repeated assurances that the oil spill will be under control. The Australian public has been given repeated assurances and none of those assurances have been met.
“It’s now seven weeks on. Two attempts. We’ve seen delay after delay. So clearly we are very concerned about when this is actually going to get under control.”
Mr Carey acknowledges that the operation to plug the well is technical and complex one, targeting a small hole about 2.6 kilometres under the seabed.
“But what we’re calling for is some clarity on what’s actually happened,” he said.
“It is still unclear exactly what went wrong. Now surely after seven weeks the company should be able to tell us what happened.
“What was the scenario that caused this to happen. Was it purely a technical fault? Was it a lapse in practice? But we just don’t know.
“Part of the problem for the environment sector and for a range of other stakeholders is the lack of information from both the company and the Government.”
Another widespread concern echoed by Mr Carey is the extent of the spill. Just exactly how much oil has been spilled?
“There have been some suggestions that we look at, you know, near production wells that were already under operation,” he said.
“But again it’s based on estimates. We are now, the conservation sector, looking at seeing if we can get in our consultant, industry consultant to try to provide us [with a] better estimate.
“But this is a ridiculous scenario and it’s a really unfortunate scenario.
“We are all grasping at straws, wanting information, basic information that the company should be able to provide.”
Related New Links:
Related Links:
- Timor Sea Oil Slick: Growing Australian Disaster
- Major Ecological Disaster Underway in Timor Sea
- Australian Oil Disaster May Get a Lot Worse
More Links:
- 4m liters of crude spill into French nature reserve
- Old MacDonald Had a Fleet
- Shell Leaks in Shabby Style!
- Exxon Mobile Court Orders Only Fraction of Damages
- Another Day, Another Oil Spill in Alaska
Fire Earth 