French supermajor Total (NYSE:TOT) has been forced to seal the bottom of a well in the Elgin-Franklin field after encountering drilling “difficulties”.
The energy giant had to restrict access to the Elgin B wellhead platform after running into ‘flow’ issues on January 27.
The alarm was raised as workers drilled 4km below the seabed in the high pressure/high temperature gas field.
Only essential personnel were allowed on the platform while other wells in the area were shut down to allow staff to asses the situation.
At the time the operator said “some flow” had been detected in the well and that it may have to be plugged and abandoned.
A spokesman for Total has now confirmed that the situation has been resolved.
He said: “Operations have now been completed and the bottom part of the well has been successfully cemented.
“At all times the well was under control at the surface and there was no loss of containment.
“Precautionary measures that were put in place during the operations, such as restricting access to essential personnel only and also the reduction of production, have now been lifted.”
The Health and Safety Executive was informed of the issue with well, which is known as the ‘Elgin Infill E’.
Total started gas and condensate production from the West Franklin project in January 2015.
The Elgin B is a secondary well-head connected by a bridge to the Elgin A.
Located approximately 240 km east of Aberdeen, West Franklin was discovered by Total in 2003.
Phase 1 production started in 2007 with two wells drilled from the Franklin platform.
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