Production Halted on Total’s Elgin Gas Platform After Gas Leak

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Total SA (TOT, FP.PR) has been forced to halt production from a platform in the Elgin gas and condensate field in the U.K. North Sea after a gas leak was discovered onboard Sunday, the French oil major said.

Operators Total E&P UK said “a well control problem” occurred on the wellhead platform in the Central Graben area, 240 kilometers (149 miles) off Aberdeen, at 12:15. All personnel had been accounted for and no injuries had been reported, Total said.

Arrangements were under way to evacuate nonessential staff from the platform and the Viking drilling rig. Production of some 10 million cubic meters a day of natural gas is expected to be halted over the next 12 hours due to the “unplanned outage,” tweeted Total E&P.

Emergency procedures have been activated and the Coastguard and Grampian Police have been informed, the company said.

-By Alexis Flynn, Dow Jones Newswires

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