Oil Rig Leaking 400 bbl Daily

Western Australia is the site of an oil rig spill flowing up to 400 barrels daily in what is being listed as the third largest Australian spill in the last twenty years.

The oil rig operating company PTTEP had previously declined to estimate the size of the spill which began on August 21. The leak is from an oil rig approximately 250 km off the Western coast of Australia and has reportedly reached within 170 km of the coast. One Australian, Senator Rachel Siewert, has disputed the range of the leakage, suggesting the oil slick is closer to the coast in satellite imagery she had seen. If the leak were to be stopped immediately it would still be the third largest leak in Australia in the past twenty years at 1,215 tonnes of crude oil so far escaped. The leak is expected to continue for at least three more weeks until the company Alert Well Control is able to drill a second well shaft a distance of 2.6 km underground to fill the leak site with heavy mud. The new well drilled must hit a target at that range which is only 25cm in diameter. The company performing the remedial action also worked in Iraq assisting in dousing some of the hundreds of oil well fires which had been ordered by the former leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. As reported in Australian Business Wall Street Journal No confirmed impact on marine life has been reported, although local fisherman have stated they had seen some birds and sea snakes which were affected. Senator Siewart has voiced concerns over the imminent spawning of Red Emperor Favorable wind and ocean currents have so far kept the oil from reaching the coastline, the oil spill is likely to double in size before it is finally stopped and the outcome is still in question regarding unfavorable results to the marine life in the area.