French oil major Total, announced that their well intervention efforts at the North Sea Elgin complex were successful in finally halting the flow of gas from the leaking G4 well. The operation, which involved pumping heavy mud into the leaking well, began on May 15th and the leak was stopped 12 hours later. Speaking about the Elgin situation, Yves-Louis Darricarrère, … [Read more...]
Total: “Top Kill” at Elgin Could Happen Today
PARIS (Dow Jones)--Total SA (TOT) Friday said it has everything ready to "kill" a leaking gas well in the North Sea. "We could carry out the operation as early as today but it is a question of days because the weather isn't favorable," Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive, said during the company's shareholders meeting. Since the gas leak was detected March 25, … [Read more...]
West Phoenix on Station to Perform Elgin Well Intervention
PARIS (Dow Jones)--French oil major Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) Friday reiterated it was ready to start "in the coming days" an operation to "kill" a gas leaking well on its North Sea Elgin platform as it has managed to move a support drilling rig close to the platform. The semi-submersible drilling rig called "West Phoenix" moved within the exclusion zone around the platform that … [Read more...]
Intervention Crew Installs Gas Diverter on Elgin Platform
PARIS (Dow Jones)--Oil major Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) Thursday said the specialized crew currently intervening on its North Sea Elgin Platform have further reinforced safety in order to complete a planned operation to end a gas leak that forced the evacuation and the powering down of the structure nearly a month earlier. Over the past week, only two flights were made to Elgin, … [Read more...]
Well Control Experts Land on Elgin, SEDCO 714 Spuds In
At 1153 GMT, Total announced via Twitter that a team of 11 engineers had descended upon the stricken Elgin platform to commence "well kill" operations. At the same time, the Transocean (NYSE:RIG) drilling rig, SEDCO 714, was spudding in the first relief well as part of the operation to stop the Elgin G4 gas leak. The UK Department of Energy and Climate change granted TOTAL … [Read more...]
Total and Wild Well Control Crews Complete First Foray Onto Elgin Platform
PARIS--Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) said Thursday a specialized crew on a reconnaissance mission to the Elgin platform in the North Sea returned safely, armed with key information that the company plans to use in efforts to stem a major gas leak onboard the facility. The mission was the first foray onto the Elgin since the vessel was abandoned and powered down 11 days ago after a … [Read more...]
Elgin’s Offshore Installation Manager Describes Evacuation, Decision-Making [INTERVIEW]
![Elgin’s Offshore Installation Manager Describes Evacuation, Decision-Making [INTERVIEW]](https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Picture-21-207x125.png)
Total's interview with William Andrew Cardno, the Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) of the Elgin Platform. He describes the evacuation of the platform and some of the subsequent decisions that were made to evaluate the situation and to ensure the safety of the remaining crew. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch3IAbtd10M … [Read more...]