North Sea oil spill ‘wake-up call’

An estimated 216 tonnes of oil (1,300 barrels) have already leaked into the surrounding water since an initial spill was discovered at the Gannet Alpha platform, 112 miles east of Aberdeen, last Wednesday.

This leak has been contained but a second, much smaller fault is still allowing some oil to flow into the sea.

Shell, the operator of the rig, said only two barrels of oil a day (70 gallons) are still leaking, compared to hundreds last week.

Technical Director of Shell’s exploration and production activities in Europe, Glen Cayley, said that the first major leak was “pretty much dead” but the secondary smaller leak was proving “difficult” to reach. The company confirmed it believes the leak is located in a relief valve adjacent to the original leak and from the same source.

It’s a wake-up call to oil companies that if they want to go deeper they will have to spend more money on safety. Dr Simon Boxall, National Oceanography Centre

He said: “We’re confident that it’s under control. The residual small leak is in an awkward position to get to. This is complex sub-sea infrastructure, and really getting into it amongst quite dense marine growth is proving a challenge.

“The primary leak in the flow line is pretty much dead. There is a small secondary leak created by that which is the small flow of two barrels a day which is proving a little difficult to get to and isolate.”

He said it was not known what caused the leak, which was first spotted by a helicopter flying overhead. At its peak, the sheen on the surface extended 18 miles but Shell said this has now diminished.

Watch a video showing the spill, filmed by a Marine Scotland surveillance aircraft on Monday.

Major North Sea spill

While the spill is not significant in global terms, and does not compare to giants like the BP oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico last year, figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that the estimated spill outstrips annual spill totals for the last decade in the North Sea.

Mr Cayley added: “Shell deeply regrets this spill. We work very hard to ensure that we secure the environment and when we fail in a situation like this, we act swiftly as we’ve done in this case in respect of setting up our emergency team and informing and working closely with Government agencies, DECC, HSE, the coastguard, Marine Scotland, the Scottish Government.

“We have moved, we believe, really quickly in terms of technically stemming the leak.”

However, environmental campaigners and marine experts questioned Shell’s reaction to the spill.

Wake-up call

Wildlife organisation WWF Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon said: “It is clear that Shell is having great difficulty dealing with their leaking pipeline. It really does make you question the entire oil industry’s ability to respond had this accident been on a larger scale or in the much more difficult waters of the Arctic.”

Dr Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton told Channel 4 News there were “lots of issues” that needed tackling about safety and security in the North Sea.

He said: “They are not taking it as seriously as they should. It is not on the same scale as the Gulf spill but it is important if they want to go deeper.

“It’s a wake-up call to oil companies that if they want to go deeper they will have to spend more money on safety.”