Seadrill rig fire rages off Australia
By Vibeke Laroi
LONDON (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based oil rig company Seadrill Ltd., a Norwegian oil-rig company, said yesterday its West Atlas drilling unit was still on fire and isn't likely to be put in use again because of severe damage.
"The fire encompassing West Atlas and Montara continues," Hilde Waaler, a spokeswoman for Seadrill, said by phone yesterday. "We're trying to get the fire under control."
The West Atlas rig, which is fully insured for $200 million, is a "total wreck", she said, declining to name the insurance company. The jack-up rig, the type most commonly used in shallower waters, was in October leased at a rate of $255,000 a day, according to Seadrill's website.
West Atlas caught fire on November 1 off Australia along with PTT Exploration & Production Plc's Montara wellhead platform. There were no people on the platform when the fire broke out because all personnel were evacuated on August 21 in connection with an oil and gas leak at the field.
The fire broke out during attempts to plug a leak by pumping heavy mud into the well, PTTEP Australasia, a unit of PTT Exploration & Production, said on its website. Seawater is being pumped down a relief well to bring the fire under control, the company said. A new attempt was to be made last night to pump heavy mud into the well to try to stop the leakage of oil and gas, Waaler said. About 400 barrels of oil a day is leaking, she said, adding that she didn't have the amount of gas.
