Emergencies and World Disasters
Days of Oil and Silence: The Montara Blowout Nobody Agrees On
19 min•24 juli 2026
Om avsnittet
Days of Oil and Silence: The Montara Blowout Nobody Agrees On
The thought of a well gushing for seventy-five days in the remote Timor Sea is both terrifying and bewildering: estimates of the spill range from 1.2 million to over 9 million US gallons, and after fifteen years there is still no agreed total. How did a single cement failure beneath a jackup rig lead to months of futile fixes, legal fights, and a gap in the basic facts of the disaster?
In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the morning of 21 August 2009 through four failed relief well attempts and the inquiry that followed, asking how institutional failure, technical difficulty, and remoteness combined to produce enduring uncertainty about responsibility and impact.
Person: PTTEP Australasia (operator), Seadrill (owner), Halliburton (cementing contractor)
Date: 21 August 2009 (blowout); 24 November 2010 (Borthwick report); 2012 (fine levied)
Location: Montara field, Timor Sea, ~250 km north of Australian coast, ~690 km west of Darwin
Event: Well H1 blowout on jackup rig West Atlas; continuous leak for 75 days
Status: Fine of 510,000 AUD; company estimated 170 million AUD spent through 3 Nov 2009; cleanup cost 5.3 million AUD
- 69 workers evacuated from the West Atlas on 21 August 2009; all survived.
- The H1 well reached nearly 3 kilometres beneath the seabed and leaked through a failed 9-5/8-inch cemented casing shoe.
- Official spill estimates range from 1.2 million to more than 9 million US gallons.
- Four relief well attempts were required before the well was controlled.
- PTTEP Australasia pleaded guilty and was fined 510,000 AUD; the company reported 170 million AUD spent by 3 November 2009.
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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
The thought of a well gushing for seventy-five days in the remote Timor Sea is both terrifying and bewildering: estimates of the spill range from 1.2 million to over 9 million US gallons, and after fifteen years there is still no agreed total. How did a single cement failure beneath a jackup rig lead to months of futile fixes, legal fights, and a gap in the basic facts of the disaster?
In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the morning of 21 August 2009 through four failed relief well attempts and the inquiry that followed, asking how institutional failure, technical difficulty, and remoteness combined to produce enduring uncertainty about responsibility and impact.
Person: PTTEP Australasia (operator), Seadrill (owner), Halliburton (cementing contractor)
Date: 21 August 2009 (blowout); 24 November 2010 (Borthwick report); 2012 (fine levied)
Location: Montara field, Timor Sea, ~250 km north of Australian coast, ~690 km west of Darwin
Event: Well H1 blowout on jackup rig West Atlas; continuous leak for 75 days
Status: Fine of 510,000 AUD; company estimated 170 million AUD spent through 3 Nov 2009; cleanup cost 5.3 million AUD
- 69 workers evacuated from the West Atlas on 21 August 2009; all survived.
- The H1 well reached nearly 3 kilometres beneath the seabed and leaked through a failed 9-5/8-inch cemented casing shoe.
- Official spill estimates range from 1.2 million to more than 9 million US gallons.
- Four relief well attempts were required before the well was controlled.
- PTTEP Australasia pleaded guilty and was fined 510,000 AUD; the company reported 170 million AUD spent by 3 November 2009.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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