Flare Extinguishes Itself on Elgin Platform

The situation at the Elgin platform in the North Sea has taken a step back from critical, as the flare which was burning since the leak occurred last Sunday, has extinguished itself.

A statement issued by Total on Saturday read:  “We received what we consider final confirmation at 08.20 this morning, when our sea vessels on location reported no further flare activity through the night."

Total has proposed varying measures to deal with the flare which was at risk of causing an explosion, including using a helicopter to drop water or other material onto the flame to extinguish it, using fire fighting vessels or to extinguish the flare by purging with nitrogen.

Government agencies and the French oil and gas company can now concentrate on to dealing with the leak, 150 miles off Aberdeen

At the moment, the principal option to stop the leak is to block the well with heavy mud to suppress the gas flow, should conditions on the platform allow the procedure to be undertaken.

The other option is the drilling of a relief well to intersect the main well to shut off the flow of gas. However, this would take six months or more.

The leak is estimated to be releasing two kilograms of gas a second from a well leak four kilometers beneath sea’s surface.

Charles Hendry, Minister for State for The Department of Energy and Climate Change has said that the leak itself did not represent a major environmental risk comparison to a conventional oil spill.