Timor Sea oil spill inquiry uncovers multiple failures

The Age

An inquiry into Australia’s worst ever offshore oil spill has begun and already found that incorrect volumes of cement used in part of the casing of the well may have contributed to the spill in the Timor Sea in August 2009. The inquiry has heard that the drilling company failed to test the casing and to reinstall a pressure corrosion cap removed while cleaning casing threads. Tom Howe QC remarked on the “potentially catastrophic consequences, including the loss of human life and far-reaching pollution of marine and shoreline ecosystems.”

posted by seamas on March 16, 2010 at 7:19 am · filed under