Total gas leak: ‘Hellfighters’ look to fill broken well with mud

A CRACK team of “well kill” specialists have successfully landed on the stricken Elgin platform – 12 days after the installation was abandoned because of a potentially catastrophic gas leak.

The eight experts – an elite team of five “hellfighters” from Texas-based company Wild Well Control and three experts from energy giant Total – touched down on the main processing platform at the Elgin complex yesterday after a one-hour flight from the Aberdeen heliport base of CHC Helicopters.

The helicopter, carrying the pilot, co-pilot and the eight-strong team, safely touched down back at the heliport shortly before 5pm.

The mission had been to carry out a vital reconnaissance of the platform, 150 miles east of Aberdeen, to assess the possible way forward in planning a “dynamic kill” operation to stem the release of gas which sparked the platform evacuation on 25 March.

A plan to pump mud down into the rogue well – known as G4 – is one of two potential solutions being pursued in tandem by the French energy giant.

The second would be a lengthy operation to drill two relief wells to reach the rock formation at the centre of the gas leak.

Plans to send the team out to the platform on Wednesday had to be abandoned because of unfavourable weather conditions, but yesterday’s flight set off from Aberdeen at 10:30am after the wind began blowing the gas cloud on the Elgin wellhead production satellite installation away from the helideck on the main Elgin PUQ (Process, Utilities and Quarters) platform.

Potentially explosive gas from the G4 well is continuing to leak into the atmosphere in the area off the satellite Elgin wellhead platform, about 80ft above sea level, at the rate of 200,000 cubic metres of gas each day.

A spokesman for Total said: “Experts and specialist contractors boarded the Elgin complex today and successfully carried out their objectives. In a key milestone toward 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 mission 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. The team also sought to visually confirm potential pipeline and hose routing options and tie-in points for equipment required in any well control operation.”

When the helicopter set off the wind speed was 21 knots and coming from the west, blowing the gas cloud away from the PUQ. The French oil giant confirmed at the weekend that a still burning flare on the Elgin PUQ platform had extinguished itself.

The Scottish Government also announced last night that Marine Scotland is chairing a newly established Environment Group to monitor and assess all the available data on the environmental impact of the gas leak. The group met for the first time yesterday.

Richard Lochhead, the Scottish environment secretary, said: “Marine Scotland will carry out collection and analysis of environmental samples in the coming days, and Marine Research Vessel Alba na Mara will begin this work tomorrow.”