Remembering the Montara Oil Spill
16 years ago today, the Montara oil spill in Australia became one of the defining offshore incidents of the 2000s.
On 21st August 2009, the Montara wellhead platform in the Timor Sea suffered a blowout, leading to an uncontrolled discharge of oil and gas for 75 days until the flow was stopped on 3rd November.
It was one of Australia’s most significant offshore environmental events:
🔷 An estimated 30,000 barrels of crude oil entered the Timor Sea
🔶 Marine life and seabirds were heavily impacted
🔷 Fortunately, no lives were lost
The response was vast. National authorities, spill response organisations and energy companies mobilised rapidly in a Tier-3 international effort. Aerial surveillance, dispersant operations, specialist deployments and ultimately a relief well brought the incident under control.
The scale and remoteness of Montara tested every aspect of response capability — and taught the sector vital lessons about preparedness, coordination, and technology readiness.
For SpillConsult Ltd, Montara also has a personal connection. Our Director, Stuart Gair, supported the response as OSRL’s incident manager from their Southampton HQ, overseeing teams deployed to Australia.
A formal Commission of Inquiry later set out wide-ranging recommendations that drove improvements in well control, emergency planning, and regulatory oversight across the region.
Montara is a reminder of why collaboration and readiness matter. The lessons learned in 2009 remain just as relevant for today’s energy sector.