“From the outset we have admitted responsibility for the incident and deeply regret it occurring,” PTTEP chief executive Ken Fitzpatrick said following the guilty plea at a hearing in Darwin Magistrates Court on Thursday, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
“Mistakes were made that should never be repeated.”
The company pleaded guilty to four charges related to the spill of oil and gas condensate from the Montara wellhead platform off Western Australia in August 2009. The well leaked for several months and was one of Australia's worst oil spills in its history.
In November of that year, as PTTEP attempted to kill the well, an explosion sparked a fire that engulfed the platform and the Seadrill-owned jack-up West Atlas and burned for two days.
Three of the charges related to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act, each of which carry a maximum penalty of $550,000, according to AAP.
A fourth charge of failing to ensure the operations were conducted in a proper manner carries a maximum $50,000 fine, the news wire said.
Fine amounts will be decided on Friday. Guilty pleas often result in lower fines.
Environmental damage from the oil spill cost PTTEP between $40 million to $50 million, Fitzpatrick told reporters.
Fitzpatrick said the company has improved its operations and its ability to respond such an incident since the spill.
“The hearing today draws a line under the Montara incident and allows us to focus on delivering safe, clean operations in Australia now and in the future,” AAP quoted him as saying.
PTTEP has completed development drilling at Montara and is expected to begin production by the end of the year.
