Australia Faults Thai-Owned Firm Over Montara Oil Spill

The Jakarta Globe -

Australia said on Wednesday that a Thai-owned oil firm’s “widespread and systematic shortcomings” caused the worst offshore drilling accident in the country’s history, which created a massive oil slick.

A government report found PTTEP Australasia failed to observe “sensible” practice at the Montara field in the pristine Timor Sea off Australia’s northwest coast, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson told parliament.

“The widespread and systematic shortcomings of PTTEP Australasia’s procedures were a direct cause of the loss of well-control,” Ferguson said.

“Well-control practices approved by the regulator would have been sufficient to prevent the loss of well-control, however PTTEP Australasia did not adhere to these practices or its own well-construction standards.”

The report also criticized the Australian regulator which oversaw the project, saying its “minimalist approach” to its responsibilities gave it little chance of discovering the company’s poor practices.

The leak in the Timor Sea from Aug. 21 to Nov. 3 was the worst Australia has seen from an offshore oil platform, although it was smaller than this year’s spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

PTTEP Australasia, a unit of Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production PCL, is being pursued for compensation by Indonesia over the Montara slick which environmentalists say grew to almost 90,000 square kilometers.

AFP/WWF Photo

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