PTT rig leaks off Australia

       PTT Exploration & Production Plc said a drilling rig at its Montara development has leaked gas and spilled crude oil into the Timor Sea.
       The West Atlas rig, about 250 kilometres northwest of Australia's Kimberley coast, began leaking at 5:30 am Darwin time yesterday, PTTEP's Australian unit said in a statement. The size of the spill was unknown, it said, without giving a cause for the incident.
       Approximately 40 barrels of oil were discharged from the wellhead in the initial incident, some of it into the sea,it said. Since then, condensate has been discharged at pressure dispersed in the gas stream. It is not known how much condensate is in the gas.
       The waters off the Kimberley region,off Australia's far northwest coast, are known whale-breeding areas.
       The company has safely evacuated 69 workers from the drilling rig. No one was injured, PTTEP said in a statement released in Bangkok today.
       The West Atlas rig is operated by Seadrill under contract to PTTEP. The Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre would begin on-site work in the Timor Sea today to minimise the effects of the spill,the company said.
       The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it was helping the company to stop and clean up the spill.
       PTTEP in January won approval from Australian regulators for the $170-million purchase of Coogee Resources Ltd, which had been developing the project.
       PTTEP shares closed yesterday on the SET at 141 baht, up 50 satang, in trade worth 906.4 million baht.