Govt defends Timor Sea oil spill company

(AAP) - The federal government has defended the time it has taken to address a massive oil spill off Australia's northwest coast.

The Timor Sea oil well has been leaking for more than two months.
Thai-based company PTTEP Australasia announced on Tuesday that a fourth attempt to
plug the well at the Montara oilfield, would be delayed until later this week.
Three attempts to plug the well with heavy mud have failed in recent weeks and the
fourth attempt, originally planned for last Friday, has now been further delayed.
PTTEP chief financial officer Jose Martins said the latest delay was not through a
lack of resources or commitment to stopping the leaking oil well.
"We have previously stated and the industry has acknowledged this is a complex
operation," he said.
"We are attempting to steer accurately a relief well through deep, hard rock
formations.
"This has taken longer than expected for technical reasons and not through a lack of
resources or commitment."
On Sunday, PTTEP said the fourth attempt would be delayed until Tuesday because a
drilling assembly became stuck in the relief well hole.
Mr Martins said the next attempt to intersect a 25cm diameter steel well casing to
plug with heavy mud was now expected to occur later this week and might require a
further attempt to intercept the target.
He said the company was committed to taking the safest and best approach to stop the
oil leak and was reviewing all available options.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett defended the company's actions ahead of the
company announcing the delay on Tuesday.
"I'm advised ... that it does take three or four attempts on a matter that's as
tricky and technically challenging as this to get the job done," he told reporters.
Conservation group Environs Kimberley says the spill has been played down by the
government, hand in hand with the oil and gas industry.
"There is a real concern about the separation of powers between the oil and gas
industry and government," Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard said.
"The Rudd government needs to show leadership and ensure that sensitive marine areas
in the Kimberley are not peppered with oil and gas wells," he said.
"We're talking about one of the world's few remaining virtually untouched oceans.
"We have an international obligation to protect what remains by putting them in
marine sanctuaries."
Wildlife groups said a survey of the marine area affected by the spill last week
showed the area was teeming with wildlife, including sea snakes, dolphins and
whales.
Mr Pritchard said the oil spill in the Timor Sea was reportedly impacting on the
livelihoods and health of Indonesians, where fish deaths have been reported.
"We hope that Prime Minister Rudd makes commitments of compensation to the affected
communities and offers to clean up any oil that is in Indonesian waters," he said.
The oil and gas industry's peak lobby group, Australian Petroleum Production and
Exploration Association (APPEA) said the sector shared the community's "concern and
frustration that oil continues to escape from the Montara field".
However, it called for patience while the complex operation is being completed.
"APPEA is advised that a relief well intercept typically involves a series of
attempts as crucial information is collected on each attempt and then processed to
assist in securing accurate interception," APPEA chief executive Belinda Robinson
said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Advice from PTTEP is that ... although this process is technically demanding and
time consuming, every reasonable effort is being made to effectively contain the
leak in the shortest time possible consistent with safety requirements."
APPEA said it had been advised that PTTEP's current approach was "the safest and
most effective way of containing this serious incident" based on current operational
circumstances and information available, including advice from safety authorities.