East Timur Oil Slick Threatening Australian Wildlife (Ecological Disaster!)

BBC NEWS

Oil threat to Australia wildlife

Environmentalists have warned that an oil slick caused by an accident on a rig in the Timor Sea is threatening wildlife in Australian waters.

Oil has been flowing from the West Atlas platform for three weeks.

Safety authorities have been using chemicals to try to break up the spill but warn it could be at least two more weeks before the leak is plugged. Environmentalists have warned that an oil slick caused by an accident on a rig in the Timor Sea is threatening wildlife in Australian waters.

Oil has been flowing from the West Atlas platform for three weeks.

Safety authorities have been using chemicals to try to break up the spill but warn it could be at least two more weeks before the leak is plugged.

THREE WEEKS! Stupid fools!

Piers Verstegen, from the Conservation Council of Western Australia, says the spill - off the north coast of the Kimberley region where whales congregate - is an ecological disaster.

I reqally hope it doesn't affect the hale population of that area.

According to news.com.aus

* Damage oil rig spilling 400 barrels a day
* Leak will continue for 3-4 more weeks
* Biggest spill for at least 20 years

THE oil leaking from a stricken rig off Western Australia has emerged as the nation's third biggest spill ever after the company responsible for the disaster admitted up to 400 barrels a day had flowed into the sea for more than three weeks.

This sound like it's only going to get worse.

reply to post by kiwifoot


Just an update to this story:

Australia oil well catches fire

An oil well at the centre of a massive spill in the Timor Sea off the north west coast of Australia is on fire.

The company which runs the well, PTTEP Australasia, said the fire broke out as it made another attempt to plug a leak deep underwater at the West Atlas rig.

Engineers have been struggling for more than 10 weeks to stop the leak which is spewing gas and oil at an estimated 400 barrels a day.

All workers were reported safe and were being evacuated from the installation.

This cannot be good.

an opposition spokesman, Greg Hunt, accused Environment Minister Peter Garrett of doing nothing to stop the oil leak.

"Ten weeks of complacency, 10 weeks of drift, 10 weeks of inaction from Mr Garrett," he said.

"In the absence of action... the prime minister must step in and convene a national environmental emergency task force within the next 24 hours."

I agree, 10 weeks is fart too long for this to be going on!

english.aljazeera.net...

Looks as though it could collapse completely. This could prove to be one of the worst ecological disasters we've seen....

Blazing Timor oil rig may collapse


"The operator of an oil rig on fire in the waters between Indonesia and Australia has said the entire structure is at risk of collapse.

The warning comes as teams were set to embark on a fifth attempt to stop an oil leak on the rig that has developed into a slick threatening sea life across thousands of square kilometres."

... and the PTB reckons it could be years until we know

we full environmental impact .......

.... sounds like crap to me .

Move over Exxon Valdez , ...... and what about all the other

oil rigs nearby ? How long before they accidentally , break ?

Is 400 barrels a day realistic ........ or is it much more ??????