Timor oil spill has yet to stop

The daily spill of about 500,000 liters of polluting crude oil from an offshore rig near Timor Sea in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province has yet to stop, as efforts to block the spill continue.

Ferdi Tanoni of the West Timor Care Foundation (YPTB) told Antara news agency in Kupang, said that PTTEP Australasia, the petroleum exploration company that owns the offshore drilling rig off northwestern Australia, would make a second attempt to stop the spill in the coming days.

The drilling rig, which has been has been leaking oil and gas into the sea since August 21, is located about 150 miles (250 kilometers) to the northwest of the Kimberley coast in Western Australia state.

The oil spill occurred 50 miles away from the West Timor coast and is likely to reach the shore within weeks.

Local administration has said the the spill threatens hundreds of fishermen.