An
update on the Total Elgin platform gas leak
Total
diverts North Sea gas leak from platform
Gas
is continuing to leak from Total's Elgin gas field in the UK North
Sea but engineers have installed diverter equipment to lead the flow
away from the production platform to make it safer to get on board to
tackle the leak, the company said on Thursday.
26
April, 2012
"The
fitting of this device ensures that there is no gas accumulating
around the G4 wellhead or the platform, (which) reinforces the safety
of the well intervention operation and helps alleviate restrictions
on helicopter landings on the platform from now on," Total said
in a statement.
The
amount of gas streaming from below the platform located 240
kilometers off the coast of Aberdeen reduced by two thirds last week
after workers started drilling a relief well.
The
Elgin platform was evacuated on March 25, after workers detected gas
leaking from a well which was closed last year, enveloping the site
in a potentially explosive gas cloud.
Total
is continuing work to drill a relief well around 2 kilometers away
from the facility and workers are preparing the platform to start a
so-called "well kill", which is a cheaper and faster option
but also more risky as it involves pumping heavy mud into the well
from the platform.
The
gas leak is costing Total $2.5 million per day, the company said.
Britain
could be facing as much as a 6 percent cut to gas supplies this
summer due to the closure of the Elgin and two neighboring gas
fields, National Grid said last week.
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