An offshore firm has started work to plug an oil well amid fears it could start leaking.
CNR International confirmed that operations to seal the well on board the Ninian Central platform were ongoing and that the process was expected to be complete within 96 hours.
A spokeswoman for CNR stressed that no oil had been released into the sea.
She added: “CNR International can confirm that as a result of issues identified during planned well integrity testing on the Ninan Central platform, intervention work is being undertaken to plug a well.
“The primary pressure containment barrier of the well is intact, but well integrity testing identified that the outer casing strings have been compromised.
“There has been no oil released to the sea.”
Non-essential workers continued to be flown off the platform, located in the northern North Sea, around 100 miles east of Shetland, as a precaution.
The spokeswoman added: “This is not an emergency situation.
“However, as a precaution, a planned down-man of non-essential personnel will be completed, reducing the number of people on board to 79 (down from 172).
“The Health and Safety Executive and the Department of Energy and Climate Change have been informed.
“The company follows regular stringent inspection and maintenance schedules to ensure the integrity of the asset.”
Jake Molloy, of the RMT union, said the company had done the right thing.
He added: “CNR are taking the right approach – the safety of the personnel comes first.”
The incident emerged just weeks after the CNR-operated Tiffany platform – which was under a health and safety investigation at the time – was shut down following a second fire.
The HSE reprimanded CNR following a fire on the same platform in January, during which the sprinklers did not launch automatically and had to be triggered manually.
In 2010, the Ninian Central was issued with four separate warnings from safety chiefs over its condition.
CNR was also issued with a prohibition notice – which can stop work – following a gas release.
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