Oil major Shell has been given the go-ahead to start removing oil from the pipeline at the centre of a major leak in the North Sea a year ago.
More than 200 tonnes of oil leaked from the pipeline near the Gannet Alpha platform, 112 miles east of Aberdeen, last August.
Shell said its plans to remove the remaining oil in the pipeline had been approved by the UK Government and would be completed by spring next year.
The operator has kept a watch on the area around the Gannet field since the leak was stopped, a week after it was first detected, and said yesterday no oil had escaped since then.
Soon after the leak was plugged, Shell started to remove up to 660 tonnes of oil from the damaged pipeline.
It estimates it could recover another 1,257-1,509 barrels of oil from the 2.5-mile-long pipeline, which is 300ft beneath the surface.
The operation is likely to take between 10 and 15 days in total, but will be split into two parts.
Most of the oil will be removed in the first stage, which is expected to start in the next two weeks.
The second phase will begin next spring, when the remaining hydrocarbons will be taken out before the pipeline is flushed and left in place on the seabed.
Shell has previously said the pipeline would not be used again and that it was considering laying another one at a future date.
It comes after Shell carried out work to remove gas trapped in the pipeline, drilling six holes to allow the gas to vent safely.
Yesterday, a Shell spokeswoman said: “Following the work to vent trapped gas last November we have agreed with the relevant authorities a way forward which will enable us to commence safe and controlled removal of the residual oil held within the pipeline, an important part of the remediation process which we expect to be complete next year.”
The operator said yesterday it had completed its internal investigation into the incident and had reported its findings to the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Health and Safety Executive, which are carrying out a joint inquiry.