Our quietly spreading Exxon Valdez in the Timor Sea
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On August 21, 2009, the Montara H1 production well, located on the Montara Wellhead Platform, 200 kilometres off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast, suffered a dramatic well-control accident. The resulting environmental disaster has now been recognised as one of Australia’s worst oil spills, and comes at a time when this biologically rich marine region is increasingly in the spotlight for oil and gas development. In September, a whole month after the incident and with oil still spewing into the Timor Sea, WWF launched a research trip from Darwin to the affected area to gain a first-hand snapshot of the region’s marine life and the potential impacts and risk to marine wildlife of the slick. The expedition set sail on Thursday 24 September and after steaming out to the remote site, spent three days carrying wildlife surveys using a team of trained ecologists. We found a region rich in marine wildlife and awash in a sea of oil and slicks of waxy, crusty residue. At one point the smell of the fumes from the leaking rig was so strong we had to change course. We know that oil can be a slow and silent killer and it was sickening to sea dolphins surfacing in the oil and sea birds feeding on the slicks and patches of sheen.
The expedition report released last Friday describes the results of three days of surveys which included sightings of 202 Spinner Dolphins, 77 Pan Tropical Spotted dolphins, 30 bottlenose dolphins, 176 Sooty terns, many other sea-birds, sea snakes and the occasional turtle in the region affected by the slick. It comes at a time when the company has also reported deaths of 16 out of 25 oil affected birds at Ashmore reef. For the two months since the accident happened we have had an oil slick visible from space, covering an area of thousands of square kilometers. The size, extent and duration means that hundreds if not thousands of our most precious wildlife will have been exposed to the toxic effects of oil, as well as untold damage to the underwater ecosystem and contamination of the food chain. If this was oil off our favourite beaches and swimmers and surfers were at risk, then there would be public outrage. Out of sight should not mean out of mind. We know from the Exxon Valdez disaster that impacts from an oil spill can be seen 20 years later, so we can expect this environmental disaster will continue to unfold for years to come. See more images here. On his Crikey blog, The Northern Myth, Bob Gosford writes: I am at a loss as to why this marine disaster has hardly registered on the Australian radar - press coverage appears to have been piecemeal at best, with little comprehensive coverage of the local, regional and international consequences. The political response has been limited to hand-wringing stop-gap measures and to paying for a series of failed attempts to plug the spill and some apparently ineffective mopping-up operations. This is a disaster of not only local, but regional and international proportions. And, while the weather conditions in and around the Timor Sea are relatively stable at present, the impending arrival of the seasonal monsoonal cycle in the coming months will substantially change the nature and location of the impact of this massive spill. The Jakarta Post reports that the slick is already in Indonesian waters and is causing illness and will have a substantial economic affect on traditional fishers and harvesters on Rote Island:
And the Timor Oil spill has been picked up by East Timorese bloggers here and here. The West Atlas oil rig in the Timor Sea, operated by the Thai-owned PTTEP Australasia, blew on August 21 and has leaked over 400,000 litres of oil, gas and condensate into the Timor Sea at a rate of reported variously as being from 300 to 1200 barrels a day. |
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17 Comments
This is a disaster of unquestioned huge magnitude. Its effects will be far-reaching and most serious. And yet our wondrous governments in Canberra Darwin and Perth seem to care not one iota. Where is Peter Garrett, Karl Hampton etc. There is not one sign of any concern anywhere. When Ian McFarlane highlighted the disaster recently and advocated some meaningful action, he was put down in the usual disparaging manner that the Govt spinners always use these days.
Rudd yells about pollution that may or may not be happening, and yet here is massive pollution that IS happening, and he is too busy slinging s — t at whomever, to get on with a most important matter.
Thanks Crikey, thanks Bob Gosford etc. Let’s make a real noise about this.
Did I hear correctly, that the polluting company just received an exploration licence covering thousands more square kilometres of Aussie coastal waters?
Peter Garret, hang your head in shame. You have sold out big time.
We need a modern day equivalent of Red Adair. It is obvious the clowns in the Thai Oil Company have no idea how to fix this disaster.The Thai Government as a major shareholder has to bear responsibility and get to compensate the Indonesians whose liveliehoods have been ruined.
I have one suggestion. Keep oil and gas exploration out of these pristin areas as we know from previous experiences that the mining industry has no conscience regarding environmental damage. Our fragile planet is dying for Gods’s sake.
Did anyone watch Dateline last night? One item covered oil exploration in the Niger Delta? The few are living like kings, while the ‘ordinary’ folk are living in poverty. The oil companies do whatever they wish without fear of question let alonebeing made to stop polluting the rivers etc, using ‘burn off’ to get rid of unwanted gas, which makes the sky glow red at night. The incidence of respiratory problems, increases in asthma; diseases of the lungs etc. It’s just horrific, and all the well known culprits are represented. They don’t give a toss!
If I had my way, they’d (responsible for this current horror in the Timor Sea) be fined very heavily and stood over by the military or police or both, until they cleaned up the mess. They certainly would not be allowed to have the opportunity to do it again.
In Australia, the proposed exploration for gas in WA should be either repealed, or they should be kept well away from land and any opportunity to cause destruction. I bet it won’t happen though, and a disaster will probably be the result. The govt is ‘in lust’ with the money it will bring, and the Opposition is only cranky because they believe they should have received all the praise for the deal! Two sides of the same destructive coin.As if China will be made to spend money making sure WA is safe from terrible oil spills? In my dreams! Dateline is repeated twice I think. It’s a must see!
Liz, I couldn’t bare to watch, but I saw the start of it. The fate of Ken Saro-Wiwa is still too stressful as are the Ogoni ongoing issues. It’s a very large population country in Nigeria and it seems corruption is endemic.
As for West Atlas and big media politics here: Laurie Oakes did the right thing with profile of Senator Bob Brown of the Greens last Sunday. This was in effect a balancer for Oakes in print wrongly attacking Brown’s colleague Senator Siewart for suggesting 2,000 barrels a day of oil spillage, when ALP ministers and resource mates were backgrounding it was only 400 barrels: A so called expose of Green’s hyperbole and unreliability.
Only Senate Estimates late last week proved the contrary, that Siewart was likely right all along and the industry were fudging if not outright lying. The back story is this:
In truth West Atlas is exhibit no.1 why Barrow Island class A nature reserve is totally unsafe in the hands of Big Oil and Gas, as well as the broader development of the Kimberley generally. Everyone knows it. Money politics is greenwashing the truth of it. You can’t eat money.
Also Minister Garrett is totally exposed. Back in 1992 he issued a cassette tape labelled “EXXON OIL MAKES US SICK”. Exactly. West Atlas no different. So how did the ALP Govt machine pimp Garrett this time? They gave him a policy decision to announce - a very big Indigenous reserve/employment project in the NT. Uplifting stuff. Very correct.
But consider the timing. And consider the level of threat in each case? West Atlas and Kimberley increasingly drowning in oil pollution versus a remote area of NT and remote Aboriginal Communities. This is class ALP pimping of the environment/environment movement politics. It goes back as far as Hawke championing the protection of Franklin River and promoting yellowcake mining, radon gas, nuclear waste cycle.
Take note. It all comes back to a truthful analysis of level of threat at the relevant time. So much for choreography. Garrett can console himself there would be no consolation prizes without him in ALP harness but that’s bogus. He could have been capacity building an balance off power in the Senate. He could have been negotiating in public as his own man. Too late, too late.
If he had any gumption and sense he would quit the ALP and nominate to run for The Greens in the Senate somewhere - ACT for instance. A big mea culpa might just get him there, the big w*nker.
… and watching Garrett pose in question time today 27th Oct 09 reinforces the hopeless ALP hypocrisy on environmental merit of their govt. West Altas spews today as per yesterday, and he dares assert wonderful concern of the ALP Govt for the coastal zone due to climate change subject of a front page report in the Sydney Morning Herald too.
Indeed as an ACF officer Garrett in the 90ies was prominent about over development of the coastal zone. Over development like you might say Catherine Hill “land bribe” case was an overdevelopment, rejected by the Land Court recently, subject of major donations to … the ALP.
Like West Atlas what do we hear from Garrett about Catherine Hill? Nothing.
Like West Atlas what do we hear from Garrett about excessive expansion of Port Botany, affecting his own federal seat? Nothing.
The guy is a front man for rock band ALP. But can’t write a song, let alone understand the lyrics.
Err, just to add that Senate Estimates late last week as per press release to quote from Senators Siewart and Ludlum (Greens) to quote, and important to get theirs on the record given the money politics:
Oil spill likely to be much larger - Dept backs Greens’ claims
MEDIA RELEASE - Thursday 22 October 2009
Information revealed during questioning at a Senate Estimates hearing indicates that the amount of oil leaking from the Montara wellhead may be much higher than the company’s estimates.
Yesterday (Wed 21/10/09), under questioning by Greens’ Marine Issues Spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert, Federal Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism officials said that PTTEP had given them no basis for their 400-barrels-day figure, and their own calculations based on Geoscience Australia data suggested a rate of around 2,000 barrels-a-day, plus condensate.
Using PTTEP’s own documents and data from similar wellheads nearby, independent analysis sourced by the Greens in the weeks following the spill calculated that the Montara wellhead may be leaking up to 3,000 barrels of oil-a-day into the Timor Sea off Australia’s north-west coast.
This calculation was disputed by the Rudd Government, with Federal Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett later saying the real figure was just 300 to 400 barrels-a-day (see http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/04/2677276.htm).
Despite requests by the Greens, there has been no explanation of the basis of this figure.
“It is clear that we can have no confidence in the estimates by the company and I must ask why the Government chose to support the company’s estimates rather than the Department’s estimates,” Senator Rachel Siewert said.
“It is clear a thorough and comprehensive inquiry is needed into this spill.
“If the oil had continued to leak at this rate over the two months since the accident on 21 August, this would suggest that up to 20 million litres of oil could have leaked into the Timor Sea.
“However, given the drop-off in the observed rate of oil leakage in the first weeks of the spill reported by AMSA, we might expect that the total amount of oil spilled could be lower, perhaps around 10 million litres.
“This puts the Montara oil spill clearly up there in the top three worst oil spills in Australia’s history,” concluded Senator Siewert.
For more information …..”
This material from Estimates via Greens presser has just been censored off the ABC Unleashed string as best I can tell.
Also they would not take a very summary version of the West Atlas/Gorgon/Barrow/NT Indigenous reservation PR by Garrett.
What a shame their readers don’t get a fair picture of the real politik, given it’s a story by the same WWF author too.
That Senate Estimates late last week as per press release to quote from Senators Siewart and Ludlum (Greens), and important to get theirs on the record given the money politics:
Oil spill likely to be much larger - Dept backs Greens’ claims
MEDIA RELEASE - Thursday 22 October 2009
Information revealed during questioning at a Senate Estimates hearing indicates that the amount of oil leaking from the Montara wellhead may be much higher than the company’s estimates.
Yesterday (Wed 21/10/09), under questioning by Greens’ Marine Issues Spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert, Federal Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism officials said that PTTEP had given them no basis for their 400-barrels-day figure, and their own calculations based on Geoscience Australia data suggested a rate of around 2,000 barrels-a-day, plus condensate.
Using PTTEP’s own documents and data from similar wellheads nearby, independent analysis sourced by the Greens in the weeks following the spill calculated that the Montara wellhead may be leaking up to 3,000 barrels of oil-a-day into the Timor Sea off Australia’s north-west coast.
This calculation was disputed by the Rudd Government, with Federal Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett later saying the real figure was just 300 to 400 barrels-a-day [see ABC website reference].
Despite requests by the Greens, there has been no explanation of the basis of this figure.
“It is clear that we can have no confidence in the estimates by the company and I must ask why the Government chose to support the company’s estimates rather than the Department’s estimates,” Senator Rachel Siewert said.
“It is clear a thorough and comprehensive inquiry is needed into this spill.
“If the oil had continued to leak at this rate over the two months since the accident on 21 August, this would suggest that up to 20 million litres of oil could have leaked into the Timor Sea.
“However, given the drop-off in the observed rate of oil leakage in the first weeks of the spill reported by AMSA, we might expect that the total amount of oil spilled could be lower, perhaps around 10 million litres.
“This puts the Montara oil spill clearly up there in the top three worst oil spills in Australia’s history,” concluded Senator Siewert.
For more information …..”
ABC Unleashed have just deleted their posting in total on the West Atlas story by the same author as the Crikey article here. It had 3 comments then 4 then 6 then all gone. Similarly none of my research/comments re the above have gone forward on the ABC website. That’s a worry. It is very damaging to Peter Garrett’s reputation as “Federal Environment Minister”. Why censor the story on ABC Unleashed? Very curious.
… and there it is again, so perhaps I’m just not reading the index page correctly, but still no critique in the comments thread of Peter Garrett or Greens good work in Estimates Committee last week.
As for the double posting above of the media release, the first occasion had a link to abc web page and so was hung on moderation, so I just reposted it without the link. Now crikey have left both up.
Tom,
Your enthusiastic posts above are appreciated. This is a story which will break hearts and reputations, especially the reputation of the erstwhile Minister For No Environment, Mr Peter Garrett.
What a disappointment he has been, and what an embarrassment to his supporters.
The ALP, my preferred government in the last election and probably also the next, has a lot of sh_t on its hands over this oil spill and their lack of a cohesive, open, response. What do they think that they are? Bloody conservatives, joined at the hip to the top end of town?
Thanks for the feedback John, I’ve done a package on my blog with this:
West Atlas oil pollution disaster: Chronology of a political sellout of the environment:
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30 April – WA state Environmental Agency provisional approval to $50B Gorgon gas deal off Kimberley coast
10 August - WA state Govt approves Gorgon gas project
19 August 4 am – oil spill begins 250km off the far north Kimberley coast in Western Australia and 150km south-east of the Ashmore Reef at West Atlas, operated by Norway’s Seadrill for PTTEP Australasia. The gusher is several hundred metres below on the ocean bottom
22 August – 69 workers evacuate West Altas oil rig.
26 August – Federal Minister Garrett waves through Gorgon multi billion decision for Barrow Island off Kimberley Coast with undue
28 August – Senator Siewart Greens flyover and pictures of oil spill West Atlas/Matoura oil leak starts off Kimberley Coast
28 August – Federal minister Garrett announces 2 million hectare national park in remote Arnhem Land in Northern Territory with strong involvement of Indigenous traditional owners. The level of threat is low compared to the extreme threat of the West Atlas oil spill. National media coverage results.
4 September - Laurie Oakes slur on Greens for ‘exagerating’ oil spill, runs nationally in all News Corp newspapers based on dishonest industry govt backgrounding
21 October – Senate Estimates evidence from Federal Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism officials said that PTTEP had given them no basis for their 400-barrels-day figure, and their own calculations based on Geoscience Australia data suggested a rate of around 2,000 barrels-a-day, plus condensate.
25 October – Veteran journalist Oakes redeems himself in part with Green Leader Bob Brown on Today 9 Sunday show profile balancer on various issues including West Atlas oil leak.
27 October – Federal Govt release report to national media coverage on climate change sea level rise threat to coastal development – an issue well understood for over a year.
…………………………
The report on rising sea level might be renamed “Bipartisan support for Gorgon at Barrow, West Atlas oil spill PR interference report?
Montara, not “Matoura” above.
ABC: Regarding Unleashed coverage/comment string
It now appears today 28th October, a day after the profile story was posted on Unleashed, and we started kicking up a stink on the Crikey parallel comment string (?), that the comments posted by this author have been allowed through at the ABC post. But why the delay? Maybe it’s normal work schedule at Unleashed. We do hope so.
The trouble is we have a distinct memory of comments being posted after our submission with ours deleted. But now they go forward. Mmm.
To their credit they run this comment now too which is harrowing:
“Hudson Godfrey :
27 Oct 2009 8:20:50pm
One of the interesting aspects of this is that comparisons should and could be drawn. So I’ve looked up some figures that may help establish some kind of perspective. A barrel of oil is 42 US gallons and this spill if it continues for around 90 days will if at 400 barrels a day as claimed have spilled 1.5 million US gallons. That number which I calculated myself is simply an easy source of comparison with Exxon Valdez which spilled 10.8 million gallons according to Wikipedia. It will have been a very large catastrophe and and unmitigated disaster in anyone’s terms, but clearly not quite as large as some of the worst tanker spills. I just thought I’d like people to know at what level environmental damage can be balanced by some at least against petrol dollars.”
End quote. However at 5 times that spillage rate at 2,000 barrels a day, the Exxon Valdez headline here by Crikey is very very apt. Assuming the numeracy above - we will be at 5.88 million US gallons in 70 days right now. A shocking situation. Half Exxon Valdez and counting.
Now I see why the Rudd Govt are going the coastal protection tub thump re climate as a PR diversion. So cynical.
This story in The Australian broadsheet shows dissension now in the north west shelf industry sector itself ….
“Industry lashes oil-spill firm
Nicolas Perpitch | October 28, 2009
Article from: The Australian
AUSTRALIA’S peak oil and gas body has turned on one of its own, saying established safeguards exist to prevent oil-well blowouts and the disastrous West Atlas spill in the Timor Sea should never have happened. [continues]”
The abc PM show tonight says $150 million has been spent already trying and failing to fix the leak. What a disaster. However they quote the company spin of 400 barrels a day, which Dept of Env official on Oct 21 Estimates specifically declined to confirm, rather based on Geo Science Australia assessment preferred 2000 barrels a day.
ABC TV 7 pm news regretably parroted the 400 barrels figure without noting it was company spin at all.
Today in the Senate Rachel Siewert MP succeeded in obtaining a motion for the Govt to release relevant documents by November 16 2009. We will find out the truth one way or the other eventually. And the entity with the huge financial conflict of interest being the oil company is not my Melbourne cup bet.