A Global Oil Stain - Cleaning Up International Conventions for Liability and Compensation for Oil Exploration/Production

Abstract

In April 2010, the world watched helplessly as oil spilled into the cool blue waters off the Gulf of Mexico causing the largest oil spill in United States history. But unlike past catastrophic oil pollution incidents caused by oil tankers, this incident was caused by a well blowout and subsequent explosion on an oil rig. This incident was more ruinous than past tanker incidents due to the very characteristics of a well spill which are much longer in duration and magnitude. On the Deepwater Horizon 11 crew lost their lives and when fire caused the Deepwater Horizon to sink it left a well gushing at the sea floor which took 84 days to cap. 

Prior to this and closer to home, in August 2009, the Montara Wellhead Platform, located 650 kilometres west of Darwin, had an ‘uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons’ that subsequently led to a fire in November 2009. Luckily there were no injuries at Montara, however oil pollution contaminated 70 000 square kilometres of ocean and it took over 10 weeks to cap the gushing oil on the sea floor.

Given the large amount of oil projects off the Australian coast it is both hard to fathom and necessary to consider what the consequences might be for an oil rig blowout for Australian marine life, tourism, and fishing industries that rely on clean, unpolluted waters.