The operator of a gas leak on an oil platform in the North Sea says it has completely stopped.
Work to "kill" the leak started last week on Total's Elgin platform, around 150 miles from Aberdeen. The leak was stopped after heavy mud was pumped into it.
Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, said the news the leak had stopped was welcome, but pointed out it was the second serious leak in the North Sea in two years.
"We should be trying to give up our addiction to oil and gas, and not seeking it out in more difficult places with the risks to the environment that poses when things go wrong," he said
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has welcomed news the gas leak in the North Sea has been halted.
He said: "This is welcome news from the Elgin platform and good progress. It is important that the work continues to manage and monitor the well over the coming days to ensure the operation to stop the gas leak has been a complete success.
"The UK Government has been in touch with the company throughout this incident and DECC has closely monitored progress throughout. I am certain that key lessons will be learned from this leak which can be applied across the sector."
– Total spokespersonTotal is today able to announce that a well-intervention operation has stopped the G4 well leak on the Elgin complex, 240km from Aberdeen in the UK North Sea.
The well-intervention operation, which involved pumping heavy mud into the leaking well, began on May 15 and the leak was stopped 12 hours later.
A gas leak on a North Sea oil platform has been stopped, according to the operators.
Work to "kill" the leak started yesterday on Total's Elgin platform, around 150 miles from Aberdeen, with heavy mud being pumped into the well.
Total said the operation lasted 12 hours.
All 238 staff were evacuated from the platform when the leak was detected almost two months ago in March.
At one point about 200,000 cubic metres of gas was leaking every day but this was said to have been reduced by two-thirds when workers started drilling a relief well last month.
Total was granted approval from the Department of Energy and Climate Change almost two weeks ago to carry out the "kill" operation.
Bond Aviation Group said it is suspending EC225 Super Puma helicopter flights until further notice for safety reasons after one of the aircraft ditched in the North Sea today.
All the passengers and crew from a helicopter that ditched in the North Sea have arrived safely back on land after a dramatic rescue.
Read the full storyA Bond helicopter has made a controlled landing in the North Sea after getting into trouble.
All 14 on board are safe and well.
All crew and passengers are in a life raft waiting to be rescued by a lifeboat.
Two helicopter have been deployed to assist the rescue.
Total can this morning confirm that the flare on the Elgin platform has extinguished itself. More info on http://t.co/lPyhWmMm
From @TOTALEPUK on Twitter:Total has said it has found the source of the gas leak from its North Sea platform.
In a statement it said:
The leak is from a well that was plugged one year ago and from a rock formation in about 4,000 metres depth.
The gas is coming from the Elgin platform above sea level but engineers say they need to know where the leak is coming from before they repair it.
