A shut down of a North Sea platform has moved into its eighteenth day after a suspected gas leak.
Production was suspended on Boxing Day on the Brae Alpha platform, 155 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.
Marathon Oil has said a “comprehensive” investigation is continuing into the incident.
The platform normally produces 21,000boepd – with an estimated 378,000 barrels on hold until operations have resumed.
Marathon Oil said a third of the average daily production -7,000boepd – is netted by the company totalling 126,000 barrels.
It is understood production from the Brae Bravo and Eat Brae operations are meanwhile continuing as normal.
The US oil and gas company is currently the operator of the Brae Alpha platform which is 155 miles from Aberdeen.
Earlier this month, Aberdeen MP Callum McCaig wrote to the Energy Minister and called for more sanction powers for the OGA (Oil and Gas Authority) and the HSE (Health and Safety Executive)
after raising concerns about safety offshore.
It’s understood there are currently around 100 staff on board the platform, but Marathon Oil said the numbers can fluctuate on a daily basis due to crew changes.
A spokeswoman for Marathon Oil said: “The gas release on December 26, 2015, involved failure of a pipe on the installation. Safety systems operated as designed, shutting in production and stopping the release of gas.
“We are not able to estimate timing for the resumption of production until our investigation has been completed and we are confident it is safe to do so.
“Marathon Oil is cooperating fully and working closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who conducted inspections on the installation this week.”
The Brae Alpha platform is among the North Sea’s oldest platforms at 32 years old.
When the incident happened ten days ago, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was alerted to the leak after the platform had issued a distress call.
The incident also comes after the safety watchdog hit Marathon with an improvement notice following a leak on the platform in June.
In November, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the incident had “put the health and safety of individuals on the platform at risk.”
Recommended for you
