Operators play down fears over platform blast risk

All 238 workers were taken off Total’s Elgin PUQ platform, about 150 miles (241km) off Aberdeen in the North Sea, when the leak was discovered on Sunday.

Pollution experts have warned of a risk of explosion but a spokesman for the company said last night the wind was blowing the gas plume eastwards, in the opposite direction of the flare.

“There is no immediate concern about any ignition because of the distance between the gas and the flare,” he said. “There is also a prevailing easterly wind, taking the plume away from the flare.”

It could take as long as six months to drill a relief well to stop the release of gas, according to the oil firm.

An exclusion zone of two nautical miles (2.3 miles) has been set up around Elgin for ships and aircraft.

There is a large sheen on the water near the platform, estimated to extend over 4.8 square kilometres (1.85 square miles).

In a statement, Total said the situation is “currently stable”.

“We continue to take all possible measures to confirm the source and cause of the leak and to bring it under control. A further oil spill response (OSRL) surveillance flight left this morning at 8am to review the situation. Initial reports from OSRL indicate the gas cloud is visible and heading east.

“A sheen is visible on the surface of the sea but our surveillance data indicates the area it covers remains unchanged.

Sea water samples have been taken and sent to a specialist laboratory for analysis.”

The company also said firefighting vessels are on location in the field as a “precautionary measure” and the remotely operated Allseas Highland Fortress support vessel is on standby.

Total said the flare is an integral part of the platform’s safety system and in an emergency is used to safely evacuate all the gas from the platform.

A spokesman added: “The flare is still lit because when the platform is shut down and de-pressurised in an emergency, it cannot be fully purged as done in a controlled shutdown. This is perfectly normal.

“Some liquids do remain in the system and these liquids are now evaporating. As these liquids evaporate the flow of hydrocarbons to the flare will exhaust itself and the flare should burn out.”

The company said it is also investigating how to extinguish the flare if it does not burn out by itself.

It continues to work closely with the Secretary of State’s Representative, the Health and Safety Executive, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Marine Scotland and the coastguard, as well as other operators in the area.

Shell has reduced its workforce on two offshore sites close to the platform as a precaution. Around 85 staff have been taken off the company’s Shearwater platform and the nearby Noble Hans Deul drilling rig, leaving a workforce of 117.

Total also said preliminary assessments indicate the leak has made no significant impact on the environment.

Martin Preston, marine pollution specialist at the University of Liverpool, said toxic hydrogen sulphide being released in the leaking gas could hit marine life.

But he said the problems the situation on the Elgin gas rig could cause are far smaller than if a crude oil platform – such as the Deepwater Horizon rig which caused the Gulf of Mexico disaster – was involved since the cold North Sea would mean volatile chemicals evaporated more slowly and bacteria which break down oil would work much more slowly.