Rig operator blamed for Australian oil disaster

The Australian government has blamed the rig operator for the country’s worst oil spill.

Resources minister Martin Ferguson told parliament a government report found that PTTEP Australasia, a unit of Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production, did not observe sensible oil field or government-approved practices at the West Atlas rig and Montara wellhead platform off the north-west coast.

The platform in the Timor Sea began leaking in August last year and more than 400 barrels of oil a day stained the coasts of Indonesia and East Timor before mud pumped through a relief well shut off the deepwater spigot 11 weeks later.

PTT paid for the clean-up and Mr Ferguson said the government planned to change the law to remove any doubt that companies responsible for any future leaks would be made to pay.

“PTTEP Australasia did not observe sensible oil field practice at the Montara field,” Mr Ferguson said.

“Other findings include that the widespread and systematic shortcomings of PTTEP Australasia procedures were a direct cause of the loss of well control.”

Mr Ferguson said the field’s regulator, the Northern Territory Department of Resource, was “not a diligent regulator and its minimalist approach to its regulatory responsibility gave it little chance of discovering these poor practices”.

“Well control practices approved by the regulator would have been sufficient to prevent the loss of well control,” he said.

“However PTTEP Australasia did not adhere to these practices or its own well construction standards.”