Shell restarts Fulmar gas pipeline after North Sea leak repair
Royal Dutch Shell restarted gas flow Thursday from the Fulmar pipeline in the UK North Sea to the St. Fergus plant in Scotland after a subsea pipeline leak was repaired.
The leak was first spotted Monday night after local police informed the Coast Guard of reports that sea water was bubbling several hundred feet from the Curlew FPSO.
Divers were deployed with remotely operated underwater vehicles to isolate the pipeline from the FPSO by closing two valves on an interconnecting pipeline, the Evening Express said.
Shell said the repair work was completed last night and gas exports through the Fulmar pipeline were restarted early Thursday morning.
No injuries or damages were reported.
The size of the release has not been disclosed.
The UK Heath and Safety Executive and the Department of Energy and Climate Change are investigating the incident.
The cause of the leak is still unknown although officials are looking into a possible collision between the FPSO and the pipeline.
Shell tried to evacuate 50 non-essential crew members from the FPSO following the leak but bad weather prevented the company from moving the workers.