Despite Timor Sea spill, oil licences granted

Peter Ker, The Age 24 Oct 09;

THE company responsible for one of the biggest oil spills in Australian history was yesterday given access to more Australian oilfields, after winning support from the Rudd Government.

As its workers began their fourth attempt at fixing the Montara oil leak off the Kimberley coast, Thai company PTTEP yesterday took control of five new exploration licences and several oilfields in Australian waters.

Despite growing concerns about the impact of the two-month oil leak, the $11 million purchase of new oil assets was supported by Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

Purchased from fellow oil exploration company OMV, the licences give PTTEP control of an extra 1480 square kilometres of Australian waters near the leaking Montara rig, about 650 kilometres west of Darwin.

With the Montara leak yet to be resolved, the deal prompted concern from scientists and environmentalists such as University of West Australia associate professor of marine ecology Euan Harvey.

''They need to demonstrate they cannot impact on others' livelihoods or on the ecosystem, and at the moment they've demonstrated very clearly that they can't do that,'' he said.

Professor Harvey, who has spent recent years researching marine biology in the waters close to the spill, said the oil slick posed a big risk to the larvae of large finfish, which spawn in October.

Australian Marine Conservation Society spokesman Darren Kindleysides said PTTEP's track record should be taken into account before access was granted to new oilfields.

''Clearly PTTEP's track record has been pretty shabby in recent months,'' he said. ''Major questions still hang unanswered over why this spill happened and why it hasn't been plugged yet.''

Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Chris Smyth called the timing extraordinary.

But the Government leapt to the defence of PTTEP, with spokesman Michael Bradley stressing that the company would be ''treated the same as any other company''.

''PTTEP is a major international oil company with strong technical capability and financial capacity,'' he said.

''The causes of the Montara well leak are unknown at this stage … PTTEP will continue to be treated by government on a non-discriminatory basis in its activities and operations here in Australia.''

The federal Resources Department estimated this week up to 2000 barrels - about 318,000 litres - of oil was leaking each day at Montara, yet PTTEP said the amount was up to five times lower.

Environmental group WWF released the results of a three-day survey of wildlife around the oil slick yesterday, after a sea voyage to the region.

Survey teams reported seeing 430 animals and witnessed sea snakes and dolphins swimming through the slick. WWF did not find any dead animals, but spokeswoman Gilly Llewellyn said she was confident the slick was affecting animals.

PTTEP yesterday delayed its fourth attempt to intercept the leaking well.