Oil and gas are spewing from a drilling rig in the Timor Sea and it will take at least seven weeks to clean up this ongoing  spill off Australia's northwest coast.

Sweet light crude gas and condensate are spilling into the Timor Sea from the West Atlas rig 690 kilometers (428 miles) west of Darwin in the Northern Territory and 250 km (155 miles) northwest of Truscott in Western Australia. The oil slick now covers an area 14 kilometers (eight nautical miles) long and 30 meters wide. The well's spewage is still not under control and Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, today called seven weeks "a conservative estimate," for the oil spill cleanup.

The spill occurred at the edge of Australia's continental shelf, an ocean highway used by loggerhead turtles, dolphins and endangered species such as the pygmy blue whale. "This is a potential disaster for turtles, whales, dolphins, sea birds and sea snakes," said Dr. Gilly Llewellyn, WWF-Australia's conservation manager. WWF warned that increasing the number of offshore oil and gas ventures in the region is increasing the risk to marine life.

Despite industry claims that drilling harnesses newer and safer technologies, the risk of environmental damage and disaster is still very real.

You can read more on this oil spill over at Environmental Newswire.

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