Australian oil spill threatens marine life
Updated
An rig leaking hundreds of barrels of oil in to the Timor Sea off the northwest Australian coast will not be plugged for at least another three weeks, according to the Thai firm that operates the rig.
The company PTT Exploration and Production Australasia runs the West Atlas drilling rig, which has been gushing oil and natural gas since mid-August, and is now one of the worst oil spills in Australian history. Ecologists say a toxic slick is poisoning marine species across an area of ocean one-hundred times the size of Sydney Harbour.
Presenter: Michael Cavanagh
Speakers: Dr Gilly Llewellyn, Conservation Director, World Wildlife Fund Australia; Peter Tucker, Chair, Save the Kimberley Region; Jose Martins, Chief Finance Officer, PTT Exploration and Production Australasia
- Listen:
- Windows Media
CAVANAGH: The oil rig is approx 250 kilometres off the Australian coast in an area classed as Australian waters - and for nearly five weeks oil has been leaking at an estimated rate of 400 barrels a day.
Environmental group the World Wildlife Fund or WWF has been in the region for around week monitoring the effect and extent of the spill - and its Conservation Director Dr Gilly Llewellyn says the problem is easy to see.
LLEWELLYN: When we were steaming across all afternoon we were clearly in an area that was heavily oiled. We are also seeing heavily concentrated oil slicks of older weathered oil and also fresher this really disgusting yellowy kind of clotted material its bit like the chicken fat you get on chicken soup that's collecting in these thick streaks its also occurring as it disperses on the surface and you can see the oil tails around it. Its a huge contamination event that is happening out here.
CAVANAGH: Concern about what could result in being an environmental catastrophe is growing. Peter Tucker is the chair of a local community group Save the Kimberley region - which is increasingly becoming a destination for people wanting to tour the remote region. The coastal part has become well known for its pristine clear waters which are home to thousands of marine species and birdlife.
TUCKER: It's alive with Palladic fish in particular - marlin, sail fish and of course sea turtles and sea snakes. Its an area renowned for sea snakes. One of the more populous areas for sea snakes, humpback whales frequent the area. Its of a great concern definitely and it would be a of more a concern if that slick was to move closer to the coast.
CAVANAGH: The pressure on the firm that operates the well is increasing. PTT Exploration and Production Australasia is Thai-owned.
Ever since the leak occurred there has been conflicting reports on the effect and extent. The remoteness has made it difficult to get a clear picture of the problem. Some have argued that the slick was drifting away from the coast. Others worried that it has moved closer.
As it has dragged on, concern has increased and PTTEP's Chief Finance Officer Jose Martins has been extremely cautious whenever facing the media.
MARTINS: We are working with the federal environmental authorities on a range of actions. We regret what's happened and I can assure you that none of us are very happy about being here and explaining ourselves its not something that we look forward to I can assure you. As I've said we regret what we have done so far and we are putting as much as we can into resources to fix the problem.
CAVANAGH: WWF's Dr Llewellyn fears that even if PTT Exploration and production can manage to bring the leak under control there could be a long term effect.
LLEWELLYN: There is a lot of sea mammal activity in this area and every time they would be surfacing or potentially feeding and ingesting food that is contaminated by oil or being exposed through their skin or their membrane so the toxic effect of the oil so its likely to be a building cumulative response as well.
CAVANAGH: The Western Australian Government says it has plans to cope with the oil slick if it does hit the coast - although its Premier believes this will not happen. At a federal level, the minority Greens party has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the incident - something that so far the government has ignored.
