Ready for action: ALERT Well Control team members head for the Montara platform to complete plugging and capping operations at the H1 wellhead
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PTTEP finally caps Montara well
Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) has finally plugged and secured the H1 well at the Montara well head platform in the Timor Sea, which spilled hydrocarbons into the ocean between August and November last year following a blowout.
Montara was originally due to come on stream at the end of last year at a rate of 35,000 barrels per day, but the blowout and spill have forced PTTEP to delay the start-up.
“The situation at Montara continues to be challenging. There are many steps to be undertaken before we can make full assessments of the status of the platform and development work can be resumed in 2010 to safely bring the Montara field into production,” PTTEP’s Australian director Jose Martins said today.
The leak from the H1 well was stopped on 3 November after more than 3400 barrels of heavy mud was pumped down the relief well from the nearby West Triton rig, stopping the flow of gas, oil and water.
While the situation had remained stable since then, it was not a permanent solution to secure the well. The plugging operations were always planned so the H1 well could be safely secured.
Last year PTTEP estimated the leak from the damaged wellbore at between 300 to 400 barrels of oil per day since the blowout in late August and early November, but the Department of Resources, Energy & Tourism told a Senate committee in late October that it believed up to 2000 bpd was leaking into the sea.
Based on the Thai operator's figures, between 21,300 and 28,400 barrels leaked into the Timor Sea since the blowout.
The area surrounding the Montara development is home to a wide variety of marine wildlife, including several species of dolphin, sea turtles, sea snakes and humpback whales, as well as migratory sea birds.
PTTEP acquired Montara in late 2008 after it took over Australian junior Coogee Resources.
The Montara project covers the Montara, Swift and Skua fields in blocks AC/L7 and AC/L8, which lie in 80 metres of water. The field was to be brought on stream via a floating production, storage and offloading vessel.
PTTEP said previously that Coogee's proven and probable oil reserves were 45 million barrels plus significant contingent resources from its interests in blocks AC/L7, AC/RL7, AC/P32, AC/P34 and AC/P40.