Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Australia plans to investigate an oil spill off the country’s northwest Kimberley wilderness region in a bid to prevent a repeat of the incident, Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said.

Ferguson will seek “broad-ranging major incident investigation power” through a change in legislation before announcing the terms of the enquiry, he told parliament in Canberra today.

Oil, gas and condensate started seeping into the Timor Sea from a rig at PTT Exploration & Production Pcl’s Montara development on Aug. 21. The company said yesterday a rig sent to halt the spill will be delayed by two days and is now expected to arrive on Sept. 10. It may take 50 days to plug the leak from the well alongside the West Atlas rig about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off Australia’s coast, PTTEP said Aug. 23.

“We want to learn from this incident and take any measures that are necessary to stop it happening again,” Ferguson said. “If the regulatory framework needs to be improved, the government will act decisively to do that.”

The Montara incident is the first well blowout in offshore Australia since 1984, Ferguson said. Around 1,500 wells have been drilled safely in the last 25 years, he said.

‘Human, Regulatory Factors’

“Once the well has been safely shut in and the flow of oil and gas has been stopped, the West Atlas will be inspected and there will be a full investigation into the operational, human and regulatory factors surrounding the incident,” Ferguson said.

The investigation requires changes to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2008, he said.

The Kimberley coast is described by Tourism Australia as “one of the world’s last true wilderness areas.” The Australian Greens have said the area is a “marine superhighway,” with populations of baby turtles this time of year and a migratory route for whales.

“It’s a huge concern that there’s still an uncontrolled leak of oil,” Gilly Llewellyn, who heads the Australian marine division of the World Wildlife Fund, said today. “The oil might well be heading toward Indonesian waters or to Timor. This is one of the most important parts of the planet for marine wildlife.”

The oil spill from Montara is 170 kilometers from the shore, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said Sept. 4. The authority has been spraying dispersant to help break up the slick.

“The urgent need is to cap the well-head so we stop the flow and then manage to minimize the impact of the oil that’s already been released,” Llewellyn said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Madelene Pearson in Melbourne at mpearson1@bloomberg.net; Jason Scott at jscott14@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 7, 2009 03:10 EDT