Mud Solution For Oil Rig Spill In Timor Sea

November 2, 2009 12:36 p.m. EST

Perth, Australia (AHN) - The Thai operator of a leaking and burning oil rig in Timor Sea will use 4,000 barrels of mud to stop the spill, which started on August 21 and has since spread to a 25,000 square mile of sea.

The mud will be poured down a relief well to plug the leak and stop the fire at the West Atlas platform, according to PTTEP Australasia director Jose Martins.

Some 400 barrels of oil are spilling from the rig daily and the amount spreading in Timor Sea for the past 10 weeks is considered Australia's third-worst oil spill.

However, the fire that started Sunday for still unknown cause has apparently stopped the leak.

Meanwhile, the West Timor Care Foundation, which supports poor fishermen in eastern Indonesia, claimed that the oil spill has affected 7,000 fishermen in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province. With a drop in fish catch, their income also dropped significantly, according to the foundation.

The spill is threatening dolphins and sea turtles in the area.