AMSA clean up operations: in the Timor Sea
- Aussie government pledges probe into Montara leak
- West Triton poised to plug Montara
- West Triton nears Montara
- APPEA backs bill to tackle Montara spill
- PTTEP works on Montara clean-up
- West Triton on its way to Montara
- Glitch delays West Triton sailaway
- Relief well for slick at Montara
- Rudd brands Montara slick 'appalling'
- Delay hits Montara salvage work
- PTTEP prepares to spray Montara
- PTTEP battling slick at Montara
- West Triton tow line snaps
- Montara spill prompts Canberra move
- West Triton on the move again
Montara relief well under way
The jack-up rig West Triton has started drilling a relief well to stop the flow of oil and gas from a leak at the Montara wellhead platform, in the Timor Sea, following a blowout at the development site.
It is expected to take about three and a half weeks for the relief well to intersect with the original well at a depth of 2.6 kilometres within the sub-sea formation, thereby allowing for the injection of heavy mud directly into the well bore to stop the leak.
After locating the source of the leak in the existing well and stopping the flow, crews will later reboard the Montara platform. They would then further secure the well through the placement of plugs within the well from the well head platform.
This second phase of the operation to plug the well is expected to take another week.
Once back onboard the West Atlas an assessment will also be made on what repairs would be needed to the rig and well head platform.
“PTTEP looked at all the available options and drilling a relief well using the West Triton was the quickest and safest way to control the leak,” the outfit said in a statement.
“There has been evidence from visual assessments at the scene over recent days that the rate of the flow of oil from the well head platform is reducing. As a result, AMSA has scaled back its dispersal spraying program due to the lack of sufficiently large areas of oil to spray.
"Dispersant aircraft controlled by AMSA have not been used for a number of days. The AMSA surface spraying vessel is finding it increasingly hard to find suitable patches of oil to disperse,” said PTTEP.
“The apparent reduction in the size of the visible slick may be due to a reduction in oil coming from the well, a faster natural weathering process due to warmer temperatures, wind and wave action, or a combination of these factors.”
AMSA’s assessment from its observations, plus its own aerial imagery, shows the main area of containment and recovery is about 25 nautical miles (46.3 kilometres) by 70 nautical miles (129.6 kilometres) and heading north east from the well head location.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have repeated their claims that the Montara leak poses a significant threat to wildlife and is heading towards land.
Piers Verstegen, from the Conservation Council of Western Australia, told the BBC the spill is an ecological disaster.
"Humpback whales, an endangered species, go to that area and that region to calf and give birth and this oil spill is happening just off the Kimberley coast," Verstegen said.
"The oil, as far as we are aware, is travelling towards the Kimberley coastline but it is definitely affecting areas that are used by these whales and dolphins."
Fishermen have reported seeing endangered flatback turtles covered in oil.
There have also been claims that fish and sea-snakes have been poisoned.
PTTEP was not able to respond immediately to the claims.
- Full coverage of the Montara blowout is available in the related stories section to the right of this article.