Thailand’s state-owned PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) has pleaded guilty to four charges connected to the 2009 Montara oil spill.
At a hearing in the Darwin Magistrates Court the company pleaded guilty to four charges connected to the crude oil spill three years ago.
During the incident on August 21, 2009, there was an explosion of the Montara well northwest of Western Australia.
Oil and gas condensate spilled into the Timor Sea for more than two months and the damage caused has seen the event dubbed Australia’s worst oil disaster.
Its effects were felt as far away as Indonesia.
“We have pleaded guilty and the actual penalty will be handed down tomorrow afternoon,” a company spokesman told AAP on Thursday.
He said the company had been facing three charges related to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act, and another charge of failing to ensure the operations were conducted in a proper manner in accordance with good oilfield practice.
The company would not face further court action elsewhere in Australia, he said.
PTTEP Australasia chief executive Ken Fitzpatrick is expected to address the media.
2012 News Limited