The Montara oil spill in August 2009, Australia's worst offshore oil spill incident, could have been avoided yet due to the failure of the region's regulatory authorities to effectively implement safety regimes, the accident still happened.

Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said on Wednesday that the oil spill proved to be a disaster waiting to happen and when the West Atlas oil rig eventually caught fire last year, the response team required some 10 weeks to plug the source of the subsequent oil leak.

By the time the oil leak was arrested more than two months after 2000 barrels of oil and gas were spewed out everyday during the entire span, the disaster has already caused considerable impacts on the areas surrounding the Timor Sea where most of the leaks were concentrated.

The damaged oil rig as operated by Thai energy firm PTTEP Australasia off the coast of Western Australia and involved federal water territories but Mr Ferguson clarified that the regulatory responsibilities lie with the Northern Territory Department of Resources (NTDR).

Informing the parliament on the oil spill incident report he received as early as June this year, Mr Ferguson shared that the ensuing investigation pointed to "widespread and systemic shortcomings in the well's operation, which led to the disaster."

He added that the NTDR failed on its role to properly supervise the oil rig's operation as the report had adjudged that the regulatory body acted insufficiently as a diligent watchdog when "it adopted a minimalist approach to its responsibilities; in other words, the regulatory dog failed to bark."

Also, the investigation showed that PTTEP Australasia was less than guilty of the wholly avoidable disaster as Mr Ferguson stressed that the Thai company appeared to have deliberately violated the standard protocol and safety precautions in operating the West Atlas oil rig.

As a direct result of the incident, Mr Ferguson said that he would push for a review on PTTEP's licence to operate in Australia though he noted that the company did not waver to cover for the cost of the consequent remediation following the oil spill.

Also, while Greens Senator Rachel Siewart raised concerns over the continued operations of PTTEP Australasia despite the disaster, she vowed for the introduction of legislations that would empower the federal government to suspend operations of company that would be involved on similar incidents in the future.