Total has performed a “key milestone” towards bringing the gas leak on board the Elgin platform under control.
Yesterday a specialist team of eight men – including three Total employees familiar with the North Sea platform and five specialists from Wild Well Control – spent four hours on board the abandoned installation.
The team left Aberdeen Airport at 10.30am to head for the platform – 150 miles east of Aberdeen – where they gathered “preliminary information” before returning at 4.50pm.
This will be used to formulate a plan which the company hopes will allow workers on board to begin a “top-kill” operation, which would involve pumping mud into the leaking G4 well.
This was the first flight to land on the platform since all 238 workers were evacuated 11 days ago.
Plans are also still progressing for the drilling of a relief well, as well as a back-up.
Air and sea exclusions zones were put in place around the installation which is spewing highly-flammable hydrocarbon methane at the rate of more than seven tonnes an hour.
The French energy company has admitted the leak could take six months to plug. A thick gas cloud is currently hanging over the platform.
The specialists were initially due to land on the installation on Wednesday but it was feared the strong winds were blowing the cloud closer to the platform in the direction of the area where the men would be working and where the helicopter was due to land.
Last night a Total spokesman said: “In a key milestone towards bringing the situation under control, the team spent nearly four hours on the Elgin complex to gather preliminary information that will be used to assist in preparation for deploying the necessary equipment to perform a well-control operation.
“The aim of the reconnaissance was to carry out a preliminary survey of the leak area, establish zones which can be safely accessed and gather data on the G4 well. It also sought to confirm potential pipeline and hose routing options and tie-in points for equipment required in any well control operation.”
Total said a “comprehensive risk assessment” was carried out before the mission to ensure the team boarded the Elgin under the safest possible circumstances.
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