Rate Of Timor Sea Oil Well Leak May Be 5X Earlier Estimates - AFP

[hatrack]

Oil leaking into the Timor Sea from the Montara rig could be five times faster than previously thought. The spill began Aug. 21 after an accident on PTTEP Australasia's offshore rig nearly 100 miles off the remote Western Australian coast, known for its rich marine environment.

PTTEP estimates that between 300 and 400 barrels of oil a day is pouring into the ocean, but the Australian Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism said Thursday it could be as much as 2,000 barrels a day. Conservationists estimate that the oil is covering an area of at least 5,800 square miles. A fourth attempt to intercept the leak has been unsuccessful and is now planned for Tuesday. When the accident occurred, PTTEP had estimated it would take 50 days to plug the leak, 1.6 miles below the seabed.

Australia's federal environment minister, Peter Garrett, said he was confident everything possible was being done to stop the oil leak. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said that the cost of the cleanup had reached more than $5 million. PTTEP has agreed to meet the costs.

The opposition's spokesman for environment Greg Hunt called for the government to bring in international experts to deal with the situation. "It's been nine and a half weeks of complacency, nine and a half weeks of belching oil and nine and a half weeks of continued failure," Hunt told the Australian Broadcasting System. He said the spill is a marine disaster of epic proportions and the federal government is "ignoring it".

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Timor_Sea_oil_leak_likely_spilling_faster_999.html

[debbierlus]

1. Horrible - another reason we need clean alternative energy