The fire rages on: at the Montara development off Australia
- Blaze engulfs Montara platform
- PTTEP in new attempt to stop leak at Montara
- Montara plug 'may take three more bids'
- Fury over Timor Sea gas leak
- Montara 'should never have happened'
- PTTEP setback again at Montara
- Montara spill bill hits $5m
- Doubts emerge over Montara spill study
- PTTEP keeps on working to plug its Montara well
- WWF warns of 'massive' Montara damage
- PTTEP's fourth bid to plug Montara fails
- PTTEP profits slide as oil spill weighs
- APPEA backs PTTEP's Montara action
- Montara slick polluting Indonesian waters
Fire rages on at Montara platform
PTTEP is preparing to kill the well and stop the fire on the Montara wellhead platform tomorrow, in the Timor Sea off Australia’s remote north-west coast, which has engulfed the installation and the Seadrill-owned jack-up rig West Atlas.
Well control experts are today mixing about 4000 barrels of a heavy density mud to pour down the relief well. It is now expected to take until later this evening to complete the preparation of all of the required quantity of heavy mud.
Due to safety concerns, the company will not be in a position to attempt to kill the well and stop the fire until tomorrow morning.
“The best and safest way to stop the fire is to kill the well by pumping heavy mud into the leaking well from the West Triton rig,” PTTEP's chief financial officer Jose Martins said.
“The mixture of heavy mud is designed to backflow along the leaking well, stopping the flow of gas and oil at the surface of the H1 well, cutting off the fuel source for the fire at the well head platform.
“This should kill the well and should stop the fire.”
The blaze erupted yesterday as the West Atlas' sister rig, the West Triton, which is about two kilometres from the platform, managed to intercept the blown-out H1 wellbore at the PTTEP-operated development on its fourth attempt.
The H1 well blew out on 21 August.
An estimated 500,000 litres of oil and condensate has spewed into the Timor Sea since the blowout.
PTTEP said 300 to 400 barrels of oil per day was leaking from the damaged wellbore, but the Department of Resources, Energy & Tourism told a Senate committee last week it believed up to 2000 bpd is being leaked into the sea.
Australia’s Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson today said that PTTEP will be disciplined if found to have breached industry practices.
"If (PTTEP) are found to have been at fault with respect to any of their responsibilities then any potential action will be appropriately considered at the time," Ferguson told reporters.
The government will conduct an inquiry into the spill once the fire is extinguished and the leak is finally plugged, AFP quoted Ferguson saying.
A survey released on Friday suggested hundreds of marine animals were at immediate risk because of the spill, but Ferguson said it was "too early" to assess any long-term environmental impacts.
The Greens have called for Ferguson's resignation over his handling of the emergency, describing the minister as a "parrot" of the oil industry.
"Just allow those involved in the dangerous, delicate operation to get on with the job of plugging the well free of political gamesmanship," Ferguson urged.