BP is estimating that 95 tonne, equivalent to nearly 700 bbl, has been spilled into the North Sea as a result of a leak at the UK giant's Clair platform.
"Both direct observation from surveillance flights and oil spill modelling continue to show the oil moving in a northerly direction away from land. The most recent surveillance flight already indicates significant dispersal of the oil at the surface," BP said.
Production at BP's Clair platform, 75km west of Shetland on the UK Continental Shelf, was shut in following the leak on 2 October.
According to the firm, a technical issue with the system designed to separate the mixed production fluids of water, oil and gas on the Clair platform occurred at about 10 a.m. yesterday (2 October), and resulted in a release of a quantity of oil to sea.
"The release was stopped within an hour once the issue had been identified and Clair production was taken offline," BP said in a statement. "We are investigating the cause of the technical issue and the field will remain offline for the time being."
All personnel were accounted for, there were no injuries and the leak was halted. An investigation into the cause has been launched with monitoring ongoing.
"At present, we believe the most appropriate response is to allow the oil to disperse naturally at sea, but contingencies for other action are being prepared," BP said. "Oil has been observed on the sea surface and we are monitoring its movement. Both direct observation and oil spill modelling indicate the oil to be moving in a northerly direction away from land."
"Oil spill and environmental experts from BP, Oil Spill Response Ltd. (OSRL) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have been working together to assess any potential environmental impacts and to agree the best way to respond," BP said.
Up until last year, the Clair platform, sitting in 150m water depth, was the only facility west of Shetland.
The facility came onstream in 2005 and oil is exported from the Clair field via a dedicated 22in oil pipeline and gas via the 20in West of Shetland (WoSP) pipeline, both to Sullom Voe Terminal.
A second phase of the Clair field development, called the Ridge Project, is currently under construction. The Clair Ridge development will have the capability to produce an estimated 640 MMbbl over a 40-year period, with peak production expected to be up to 120,000 b/d.
Clair Ridge is the first sanctioned large-scale offshore enhanced oil recovery (EOR) scheme using reduced salinity water injection (LoSal EOR) to extract a higher proportion of oil over the life of the field.A further future phase or phases have also been discussed.
The Clair field is managed under a unitization agreement executed in 1997 and comprises four licenses (P165, P168, P169 and P170) and six blocks (206/7a, 206/8, 206/9, 206/11a, 206/12 and 206/13) and is owned by the four co-venturers – BP (28.6015% and Op), Shell (27.9731%), ConocoPhillips (24.0029%) and Chevron (19.4225%).
Image: Clair Ridge topsides installation, from BP
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