Fire-Fighting Ships Sent to Elgin
Total has kept two fire-fighting ships on standby near the Elgin field in the UK North Sea to deal with any potential gas cloud fires, a Total spokesperson said yesterday.
The spokeswoman said that the ships were kept outside a two-mile exclusion zone, ready to act if needed, Reuters reports. She also said a robot vessel, which has not yet been used, has been brought in to scan the seabed for signs of damage.
It emerged yesterday that the company would not be able to remotely switch off a flare at the field, despite a statement from UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry earlier in the week that this was possible. A statement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that the minister had acted in good faith when making the statement but had misinterpreted data given to him.
Instead the company was considering three options to deal with the problematic flare.
At the moment, the flare is not causing an issue but has potential to create difficulties in future. The DECC says the flare is located away from the gas leak and at the moment, prevailing weather conditions are ensuring that the wind is blowing the gas away from the flare.
The statement correlates with one made by Jacques-Emmanuel Saulnier, head of communication at Total.
"The wind is pushing the gas cloud in the opposite direction," he said. "At this time, the circumstances are rather favourable."
Despite this, Mr. Saulnier acknowledged that the leak was not without its risks. "A gas cloud is always a fire hazard," he said.
The DECC says that Total has now proposed three measures to deal with the problematic flare. These include using a helicopter to drop water or other material onto the flame to extinguish it, using fire fighting vessels if they can reach the height of the flare or to extinguish the flare by purging with nitrogen. This will depend on safe access to the platform.
Total has also identified two ways to deal with the leak itself. These options are to drill a relief well to intersect the main well and to shut off the flow of gas and to block the well with heavy mud to suppress the gas flow.
Operator Total has said that it will update on the situation on the field, which has seen 238 of its employees evacuated from the Elgin/Franklin platform, on Monday following a conference call.