French oil major Total trying to find source of gas leak | WPN World People News

Total E P UK, a subsidiary of French oil major, is studying all options, including drilling a relief well, to plug a gas leak at its Elgin Well Head platform in the North Sea, approximately 240 km east of Aberdeen.

Emphasizing that the ongoing gas leak cannot be compared to the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, following an explosion at the BP's Deepwater Horizon exploration platform in which 11 workers died, Total spokesperson Andrew Hogg assured that the "situation is currently stable".

The leak comes from a well, known as G4, that was drilled in 1997 and has now been shut for about one year, Hogg said.

In a statement, the company Tuesday said, efforts are underway to "try to identify the source and cause of the leak and to bring it under control We have mobilised experts from elsewhere in the Total Group to offer additional assistance and help us deal with the incident. At this stage, the precise cause of the leak remains unclear."

Total feels the leak could be "from a zone of gas-bearing rock above the main reservoir in the Elgin field," Hogg said.

So far there is no estimate available of how much gas has leaked into the air since Sunday when Total reported that the gas leak. The French oil major has assured that the gas leak is not having any major impact on the environment.

The company stated that the leak happened following a well operation at the platform on the Elgin gas field. The production and work on the Elgin, Franklin and West Franklin fields was immediately stopped.

Elgin and Franklin are two high pressure/high temperature gas and condensate fields in the Central Graben Area of North Sea that together represent around 9 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.

TEP UK Limited owns 46.17% and is operator of both fields through its wholly-owned subsidiary EFOG and its average share of production was around 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2011. In the third West Franklin field, production is yet to start.

The company mobilized the crisis management teams and 238 personnel have been evacuated onshore. No injuries have been reported.

Two aerial surveillance flights to assess the situation has established the presence of a sheen on the water in the vicinity of the platform and Oil Spill Response (OSRL) have been carried out.

"Initial reports from OSRL indicate no change in the size and appearance of this over the course of the day. A further two flights will be carried out tomorrow," the company stated.

TEP UK officials Tuesday met with Secretary of State's Representative (SOSREP), the HSE, DECC, Marine Scotland and the Coastguard and provided a full update.

Stating that the SOSREP will be kept abreast of all developments, the company has emphasized that with all personnel "in a place of safety, all our efforts continue to focus on bringing the gas leak under control."

Despite the reassurances, Total's shares were down substantially in Tuesday afternoon trade, amid considerable market uncertainty regarding the Elgin incident.

The U.K. coastguard has meanwhile maintained exclusion zones around the area. As a precautionary measure, exploration major Shell has also evacuated some personnel from its nearby Shearwater platform and suspended drilling operations at the Noble Hans Deul drilling rig.

Source: Europe News.Net