Namesake: the Puffin oilfield has sprung a leak
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Fury over Timor Sea gas leak
The Australian Federal Opposition has slammed the seven-week delay in the news of a gas leak at the Puffin field, in the Timor Sea, being made public, calling on Canberra to release all available information immediately.
Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt also told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation it is unacceptable that the public does not know how this leak will be plugged.
A government spokesman told the ABC the Puffin leak is small and poses no threat to the environment.
However, Hunt has called for information on the the scope and scale of the leak, the volume of gas released, the impact on the marine environment and the plans for resolving it made public as soon as possible.
Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said the slight leak at the Puffin field was reported on 10 September.
Hunt slammed the government's seven-week "cover-up" of the Timor Sea leak, saying it was unacceptable, and branding federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett's actions irresponsible.
The Puffin field leak, from a subsea pipeline, is just 50 kilometres from the Montara field, where operator PTTEP Australasia is battling a slick of oil and condensate pumping from a blown-out well bore.
The H1 well at Montara blew out on 21 August. PTTEP has been battling to plug the leak and will be making a fourth bid to staunch the flow of hydrocarbons this weekend.