SYDNEY, Nov 3 — A unit of top Thai energy firm PTTEP said today it had stopped an oil leak and doused the main fire on the Montara and West Atlas oil rig in the Timor Sea.
PTTEP Australasia, a unit of PTT Exploration and Production, said in a statement it had “killed the leaking well and stopped the main fire at the Montara well head platform and surrounding the West Atlas drilling rig”.
“Some material on the topside of the West Atlas rig might still be on fire but it is expected to be extinguished as the fuel source burns out,” it said.
The oil rig, which had been leaking for two weeks, caught fire on Sunday during operations to stop the leak.
PTTEP said 3,400 barrels of heavy mud had been pumped down a relief well, which successfully plugged the leak, and the next stage would be to secure the well head platform.
A picture of the capped rig issued by PTTEP show light black smoke rising from a charred and badly damaged structure.
The rig was due to start commercial operations this month and the Montara field could be one of the main sources of profit for PTTEP in the second half of this year as analysts expect higher output from new oil and gas fields to boost its sales.
PTTEP plans to produce about 35,000 barrels of oil per day from the Montara field, which should boost its 2009 petroleum sales to 240,000 bpd.
Montara is the flagship in the exploration and production business for PTTEP, which is involved in about 40 oil and gas exploration and development projects in 14 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. — Reuters
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