The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP, today welcomed PTTEP's further engagement with a number of drilling specialists including from Woodside,Inpex, Vermillion, AGR Petroleum Services and Apache.
The Government has been actively engaged with PTTEP and other companies in the petroleum industry since this problem arose to encourage widespread expertise being brought to bear to have the leak fixed safely and as soon as possible.
This is a complex operation which requires the well to be steered with great accuracy through rock formations 2.6 km below the sea bed to a pipe that is 25 cm in diameter.
Having consulted with industry as part of regular and ongoing briefings, PTTEP yesterday conducted a peer review of next steps in drilling the relief well.
The Government is pleased PTTEP has sought this additional expertise from its industry colleagues - it is a further recognition of the complexity of the problem the company faces in fixing the leak.
Minister Ferguson said, "The collective view of Geoscience Australia and some of the industry's best minds and most experienced hands is that the current plan is the safest and best available at this stage.
"Some of the world's leading companies in complex drilling operations, including Alert Well Control, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Seadrill, BHI, Vector Magnetics and Smith Tool Services, are already working to stop this leak safely and as soon as possible.
"PTTEP is very carefully preparing for another attempt later this week.Attempts so far have been unsuccessful. This is not unusual with multiple passes generally required to successfully intercept the pipe of the leaking well.Alert Well Control, an expert in this field, has advised that the technical approach being taken at Montara has been used successfully many times.
"It is very unfortunate that the process suffered a setback over the weekend when a tool became stuck in the well, but it is vital that PTTEP and its contractors remain focussed on safely executing the task at hand."
Since the leak occurred, the Government's top priorities have been - and remain - the safety of people and the protection of the environment.
Minister Ferguson said, "It has been put to me that we should consider putting people back on the platform to attempt to stop the leaking well from there.
"The platform is subject to a Prohibition Notice issued by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) because its expert assessment of all the available information is that the facility is not safe to enter.The Government will continue to take the advice of NOPSA as the independent safety regulator."