(Updates below) 150 miles NE of Aberdeen, the gas leak at the now fully evacuated Elgin Platform is continuing.
There is now an obvious well control issue.
Staff from the associated drilling rig, Rowan Viking, were evacuated last night along with most of tye staff on the Elgin platform. The final 20 or so staff remaining on the Elgin platform were taken off early this morning – a move which underlines concerns since full evacuation is very unusual.
It is still being said that there is no evidence of an oil leak from the well.
An RMT union organiser interviewed on television has said that after the sea surface behaviour signalled a gas leak, a heavy vapour mist settled om the water. This is the heavier-than-air hydrogen sulfide, a highly-toxic and quickly fatal agent.
This is likely to have been one of the drivers of the full evacuation; and the fear of an explosion following the leak – as with BP’s Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico will have had a major impact.
This takes place as the start of deepwater drilling for oil and gas west of Shetland was announced today by Faroe Petroleum – at the North Uist Field around 78 miles NW of the islands and in 1,300 metres of water.
The North Uist field, itself promising, is on the edge of the Corona Ridge in the Atlantic Margin where major finds have been made ar Cambo and Rosebank.
Update 17.00: Total are saying that they have no current solution to the problem,, It is not yet safe to approach the platform.
There is a no-fly zone and a 2 mile exclusion zone at the platform.
Gas is still leaking but the risk of ignition has been reduced by the fact that the platform has been powered down.
Total say that a solution will be days away and could well; be weeks away, possibly involving the drilling of a relief well.
Update 20.00: Shell has announced it has removed all non-essential staff from a platform and rig four miles from the now unmanned Elgin platform and flown them back to Aberdeen.
The Shell platform is the Shearwater and the accompanying rig from which staff have also now been evacuated is the Hans Deul drilling rig.