Subsea leak forces closure of pipeline: [1 Edition]

Abstract

Scotland's only inshore oilfield has been shut down after a leak was found in the pipeline that carries its supplies to the shore.

Yesterday green campaigner Lang Banks, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "I can hardly believe that this is the only pipeline in the North Sea which is no longer up to its task. These steel pipes on the seabed are mostly 20 or more years old and are coming towards the end of the their designed lifetime.

Talisman's John MacDonald accepts that the pipeline is quite old and says that the problem is probably due to wear and tear.

Scotland's only inshore oilfield has been shut down after a leak was found in the pipeline that carries its supplies to the shore.

The operator of the Beatrice Field, in the inner Moray Firth, says it will be remain closed until at least April next year, costing around #11m in lost revenue.

Executives admit that sections of the line which links it to the tanker terminal 40 miles away at Nigg in Easter Ross, may have to be cut out and replaced at a further cost of millions of pounds.

But environmentalists fear that other North Sea pipelines may also have rusted through, and could cause untold damage and pollution to the seas around Britain.

Beatrice lies only 12 miles off the east coast and is seen every year by tens of thousands of people driving on the A9 between Inverness and John O'Groats.

Operating firm Talisman Energy, whose headquarters is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, said a complete examination of the troubled line will not be completed until the end of the year.

Yesterday green campaigner Lang Banks, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "I can hardly believe that this is the only pipeline in the North Sea which is no longer up to its task. These steel pipes on the seabed are mostly 20 or more years old and are coming towards the end of the their designed lifetime.

"I am now calling on all the other oil firms in the North Sea to step up their monitoring programmes as a result of this fault coming to light.."

Talisman's John MacDonald accepts that the pipeline is quite old and says that the problem is probably due to wear and tear.

But he said that the leak was "minimal" and did not give rise to an oil-slick on the North Sea surface.

The pipeline had been cleared of its oil and had been flushed with seawater.

Mr MacDonald said: "Further tests are being carried out to assess the integrity of the line and provide data to determine the best method of repair or replacement.

"Such an assessment is unlikely to be completed before the end of the year. The field will not be back on line before April 2001."