Hunter, tina the montara oil spill and the national marine oil. May 03, 2010 the montara spill fire burned on a partially collapsed montara wellhead in the timor sea in november 2009, just after a relief well halted an oil leak in the sea that had lasted for more than 10. The 21 august 2009 uncontrolled oil and gas release at the montara oil field, operated by pttep. Relief well was used to halt australian spill the new. How do online newspaper reports on the montana spill by indonesian media differ from reports on. Originating from an offshore well in the timor sea 140 nautical miles off the coast of australia and 50 nautical miles from the exclusive economic zone eez boundary with indonesia, it is a quintessential example of transboundary pollution from offshore activities and is still the subject of unresolved and.
Montara oil spill wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. The outcomes from the montara and macondo oil spill incidents. The montara oil spill australias shame finally gets to court. Montara project fact sheet montara project facilities plan. Montara commission of inquiry department of industry. The montara oil spill australias shame finally gets to. The montara oil spill has provided an opportunity for investigating and comparing how indonesian and australian news organizations report on an environmental issue affecting both countries. Oceans endangering australian seas aleisha wells 3 stars. Montara has recoverable reserves of 24 million barrels and is expected to produce 35,000bopd of light, lowsulphur crude. There was decline in coverage in most benthic biota and a corresponding increase in coverage of macroalgae, sandsilt and rubble at broad scales across the three shoals compared to previous surveys.
Nov 24, 2010 montara oil spill report finally released on 24 november 2010, the australian government finally released the investigation report into the 2009 montara oil spill in the timor sea that has similarities to the oil rig explosion of bp in the gulf of mexico in 2010. The australian government report on the implementation of the recommendations from the montara commission of inquiry 264kb pdf details these actions. The slick was released following a blowout from the montara wellhead platform and continued leaking in total for 74 days. The volume of oil spilt from the montara whp makes the blowoutaustralias third largest oil spill after the. Monitoring plan for the montara well release timor sea pdf 254kb environmental monitoring studies. Montara oil spill compensation case launched in federal. The federal regulator of commonwealth workplaces, comcare, has been the watchdog of immigration detention facilities in australia and regional processing centres rpcs in nauru and manus island for many years. Oil spill off australian coast contaminating one of world.
The montara oil spill and the marine oil spill contingency plan. The spill occurred in the montara oil field 690km 430 miles west of darwin following a blowout from the montara wellhead platform. The slick was released following a blowout from the montara wellhead pla. Learn about the alas work in response to the montara oil spill of 2009. Montara has seen thousands of hardworking seaweed farmers rendered into abject poverty without being advised of or. Lessons learned or history repeated 2011 international oil spill conference, portland, oregon p.
International oil spill conference journal table of contents. This study analyses the adequacy of the australian offshore marine oil spill contingency plan in responding to petroleum platformsourced oil spills, in light. Australias six years of failure 21st aug 2015 the australian government has failed in its responsibility to investigate the effects of the countrys worstever oil spill from an oil rig, from which devastated fishing villages and communities across indonesia still feel the impact today. The general approach to oil spill liability in australia reflects the application of the polluter pays principle. Biodiversity survey of the montara field oil leak 5 spinner dolphins, sea snakes and sooty terns were observed in the slick which continued until night fall. The montara incident was an oil and gas leak, and subsequent slick that took place in the montara oil field in the timor sea, off the northern coast of western australia on 21st august 2009. Final government response to the report of the montara. This paper documents, through published literature, reports of both australian and indonesian governments and. The montara oil spill was an oil and gas leak and subsequent slick that took place in the montara oil field in the timor sea, off the northern coast of western australia. The australian maritime safety authority coordinated the emergency spill response in accordance with australias national plan to combat. The spill was the result of a blowout from the montara wellhead platform on august 21, 2009.
The rig involved, the west atlas, was owned by seadrill and. Montara has recoverable reserves of 24 million barrels and is expected to. The montara oil spill in timor sea highlighted the controversies of fossil fuel extration and legislative weaknesses in australia dealing with complex transboundary issues. The montara il spill in august 2009 was the first major o marine oil spill from an offshore petroleum platform, with all other major oil spills in australia the result of shipsourced pollution. Montara oil spill department of the environment and energy. The montara oil spill was caused by a huge explosion, also known as a blowout, at an oil well drilled by a subsidiary of stateowned thai oil firm ptt exploration and production public company. Australias offshore petroleum safety body nopsema has issued an improvement notice to pttep australasia regarding environmental management noncompliance associated with its montara field operations.
The montara oil and gas field is located in the northern territory in block acrl3 650km west of darwin in the timor sea, off northern australia. Spills are only one source oil released to the sea. Relief well was used to halt australian spill the new york. The 2009 montara offshore oil spill and its consequences were anything but expected.
Longterm fate and persistence of oil from the exxon valdez oil spill. A 2009 well blowout in the timor sea a well on the montara platform on the australian continental shelf blew out in. Blowout australias third largest oil spill after the kirki oil tanker in 1991. Montara oil field, timor sea offshore technology oil. It is not possible to distinguish between impact from the montara oil spill and natural variability due to the lack of prespill baseline data. It occurred in a remote area northwest of the western australian coast, approximately ilom690etres k from darwin, 260 kilometres northwest of truscott air base in western australia, 160 kilometres from ashmore reef, and ilometres from indonesia. The regulator said the move was not related to an oil spill incident, but to incident prevention.
The implementation report demonstrates the governments commitment to apply the lessons from the 2009 montara and 2010 gulf of mexico oil spill incidents. I hereby submit the report of the montara commission of inquiry in accordance with the. Aug 30, 2017 following the incident, which took place in the montara oil field, approximately 53 to 269 tonnes of light sweet crude oil low density and low sulphur content, spilled into the ocean each day for over 74 days, making the spill potentially the largest in australian history with upper estimates of the total oil spilled ranging up to 19,906 tonnes. Wwf expedition into timor sea finds dolphins, sea birds, turtles and other marine wildlife at risk in oil spill that began in august toni oloughlin in sydney fri 23 oct 2009 12. More about the montara oil spill scientific monitoring studies disclaimer the views and opinions expressed in these studies are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the australian government or the minister for the environment and energy. The project comprises the montara field, as well as the skua, swift and swallow fields. The slick from the blast continued to leak for 74 days until it was contained in november 3, 2009. Indonesian seaweed farmers embark on class action law suit to claim for damages. A well on the montara platform on the australian continental shelf blew out in august 2009 and spilled oil into the timor sea for 74 days. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling. Australian eastern standard time aest on friday 21 august 2009, the montara wellhead platform located 140 nautical miles approximately 260 kilometres offshore from the northwest australian coast, had an uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons from one of the platform wells through its west atlas oil rig. A failure of sensible oilfield practice posted by phil hart on december 8, 2010 11. International oil spill conference journal table of. Australias national plan to combat pollution of the sea by oil and other noxious and.
Sixtynine workers on the rig were safely evacuated with no injuries or fatalities. Representation of the montara oil spill in australian and. Soon after the uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons the oil spill from the montara well head platform, pttep as the responsible combat agency. Phytoplankton bloom over the northwest shelf of australia. It is not possible to distinguish between impact from the montara oil spill and natural variability due to the lack of pre spill baseline data. The australian maritime safety authority coordinated the emergency spill response in.
The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. During a catastrophic emergency, is not the time to be searching for well control experts, starting. Hazardous substances has existing since 1973, and has served australia. Montara environmental monitoring program report of research. Blowout from the montara wellhead platform whp in over 20 years. The discharge of oil and gas was stopped on 3 november 2009. Namely the watchdog said that ptteps emergency management personnel was not. Montara oil spill wwf input to australian government commission of inquiry page 5 of 62 attempting to control a catastrophic well blowout is serious, highly technical, dangerous work.
The leak initially emanated from the montara wellhead platform on 21 august 2009. We headed south to anchor just east of the montara h1 oil leak exclusion zone. The montara oil spill was the worst oil spill in the history of the australian offshore petroleum industry. An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. It included marine life surveys, wildlife and habitat studies, continued water quality testing and shoreline ecological assessments. Normal text size larger text size very large text size. Six years after the montara oil spill, a new report has detailed the devastating impact of the disaster. Monitoring plan for the montara well release timor sea pdf 254kb.
Causes, consequences, prevention, and countermeasures. Phytoplankton bloom over the northwest shelf of australia after the montara oil spill in 2009. The montara oil spill and the marine oil spill contingency. However, while detailed funding, compensation and cost recovery arrangements apply in the event of shipsourced oil spills occurring in australian waters, the situation with respect to spills from offshore petroleum. The montara spill fire burned on a partially collapsed montara wellhead in the timor sea in november 2009, just after a relief well halted an oil leak in the sea that had lasted for more than 10. The montara oil spill took place in the timor sea on 21 august 2009. Therefore, this study addresses the research question. Tan swee haung 2011 the montara oil spill dispersant response. It is considered one of australias worst oil disasters. The monitoring plan covered both shortterm and longterm environmental effects of the montara oil spill. Aug 31, 2015 six years after the montara oil spill, a new report has detailed the devastating impact of the disaster. The slick was released following a blowout from the montara wellhead platform and continued leaking in.
Recommendations for australian government commission of. This study analyses the adequacy of the australian offshore marine oil spill contingency plan in responding to petroleum platformsourced oil spills, in light of the montara oil spill in the timor sea in august 2009. Nov 21, 2010 new reports into the montara oil spill in the timor sea say the area affected was much smaller than first estimated. When the explosion at the montara oil rig occurred on 21 august 2009, pttep aa, undertook measures to plug the well head and to disperse the oil slick which followed the explosion. Pdf phytoplankton bloom over the northwest shelf of. The slick was released following a blowout from the montara wellhead platform on 21 august 2009, and continued leaking. New reports into the montara oil spill in the timor sea say the area affected was much smaller than first estimated. Montara oil spill compensation case launched in federal court. Sep 03, 2016 oceans endangering australian seas aleisha wells 3 stars. Montara oil spill report finally released safetyatworkblog. A well on the montara platform on the australian continental shelf blew out in. The montara project is located in the timor sea 180km from the north kimberley coast off western australia. Following the incident, which took place in the montara oil field, approximately 53 to 269 tonnes of light sweet crude oil low density and low sulphur content, spilled into the ocean each day for over 74 days, making the spill potentially the largest in australian history with upper estimates of the total oil spilled ranging up to 19,906 tonnes. The slick was released following a blowout from the montara wellhead platform on 21 august 2009, and continued leaking until 3 november 2009 in total 75 days, when the.
Montara oil field, timor sea offshore technology oil and. To control the spill, the cleanup was apparently no less dangerous, with the australian maritime safety authority amsa applying more than 184,000 litres of dispersants on the oil on sea surface. After a consideration of the causes of the montara oil spill, this study outlines the regulatory and response framework for marine oil spills in australia, outlining the three pillars of oil spill planning, namely preparedness, training and. The slick was released following a blowout from the montara wellhead platform on 21 august 2009, and continued leaking until 3 november 2009 in total 74 days, when the.
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