Total's 'well-kill' operation stops North Sea gas leak | WPN World People News

Global energy major Total has been successful in plugging a gas leak on a North Sea oil platform, according to the operators.

Work to plug the leak on Total's Elgin platform, around 150 miles from Aberdeen, through a dynamic 'well-kill' operation involving pouring heavy drilling mud into the rogue well started Tuesday.

During the operations that lasted 12 hours, all 238 Total staff were evacuated from the platform where the leak was detected around 50 days ago.

Around a fortnight back Total's well-kill operation was approved by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Initially around 200,000 cubic metres of gas was leaking every day. But the gas leak quantum slowed down when work on drilling an alternative relief well started last month.

France's Total Wednesday announced that "a well-intervention operation has stopped the G4 well leak on the Elgin complex."

The firm said experts will continue to monitor the well in the coming days to confirm the intervention has been a "complete success."

Yves-Louis Darricarrere, Total's president of exploration and production, said: "Today a major turning point has been achieved. Our absolute priority was to stop the gas leak safely and as quickly as possible."

Gas has been leaking into the atmosphere from the deserted platform since it was abandoned on 25 March.

Success of the operation can be fully assessed only after some time.

Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "This is clearly good news from Total that the initial efforts to stop the Elgin gas leak appear to have been successful. Further monitoring will be needed to ensure that this is a lasting solution, but this is a welcome step in the right direction."

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon stressed, "The serious leak underlines the risks of the offshore oil industry, even in the familiar waters of the North Sea, and reinforces our concerns about the even riskier deepwater drilling in the Arctic."

Source: France News.Net