An oil well at the centre of a massive spill in the Timor Sea off the north west coast of Australia is on fire. The company which runs the well, PTTEP Australasia, said the fire broke out as it made another attempt to plug a leak deep underwater at the West Atlas rig. Engineers have been struggling for more than 10 weeks to stop the leak which is spewing gas and oil at an estimated 400 barrels a day. All workers were reported safe and were being evacuated from the installation. A director of the company, Jose Martins, said the only way to stop the fire was to plug the leak. “The measures which we have been able to take so far can only mitigate the fire. They will not stop the fire. “The best way to stop the fire is to complete the well-kill and stop the flow of gas and oil at the surface from the H-1 well, cutting off the fuel source for the fire.” … 
Timor Rig Ablaze as PTTEP Starts 4th Bid to Cap Leak By Jacob Greber Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) — PTT Exploration & Production Pcl said a fire broke out on a drilling rig in the Timor Sea off northwestern Australia during efforts to plug the well that has been leaking oil for 10 weeks. PTTEP was pumping heavy mud from its West Triton rig into the leaking Montara well via a separate shaft when the blaze started at the West Atlas drilling rig and well-head platform, the Bangkok-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. “All personnel on the West Triton and on nearby work vessels are reported to be safe,” PTTEP said in today’s statement. “Non-essential personnel are being evacuated” from the facility. Oil, gas and condensate began seeping from the well 2,600 meters (1.6 miles) below the seabed into the Timor Sea off the west Australian coast on Aug. 21. Costs have reached A$177 million ($162 million) as more than 300 people are working to deal with the spill, which may have spewed more than 28,000 barrels of oil into areas inhabited by dolphins, sea turtles, and humpback whales. This weekend marks the fourth attempt to plug the leak. …
Australia oil well catches fire
