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    UK: 100s of tons of oil leaked in North Sea spill

    By BEN MCCONVILLE - Associated Press,MEERA SELVA - Associated Press | AP – Mon, Aug 15, 2011

    LONDON (AP) — The British government warned Monday that several hundred tons of oil may have leaked into the North Sea from a Royal Dutch Shell rig.

    The Department for Energy and Climate Change said it estimates that the leak from a flow line at the Gannet Alpha platform off the Scottish coast that began last week could have spilled several hundred tons of oil into the sea.

    It said the leak was small compared to the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, but said it was still substantial for the U.K.'s continental shelf. The government said the oil would disperse naturally and was not expected to reach the shore.

    It said Britain's offshore oil industry had a strong safety record, "which is why it is disappointing that this spill has happened. We take any spill very seriously and we will be investigating the causes of the spill and learning any lessons from the response to it."

    The government said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which monitors the waters around Britain, was making twice-daily flights over the area to monitor the situation.

    Shell has declined to comment on the volume off the spill. It said in a statement released over the weekend that the spill covered a surface area of 19 miles by 2.7 miles (31 kilometers by 4.3 kilometers) and that the leak was under control.

    The oil field, about 112 miles (180km) east of the city of Aberdeen, is operated by Shell and co-owned by Shell and Esso, a subsidiary of the U.S. oil firm Exxon Mobil.

    Stuart Housden, Director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland, said razorbills, puffins and guillemots that gather in the North Sea in late summer could be at risk.

    "We know oil of any amount, if in the wrong place, at the wrong time, can have a devastating impact on marine life," he said.

    The Scottish government said it was working with Shell to monitor the spill and warn local fishing boats about it.

    ___

    McConville reported from Edinburgh

     

    41 comments

    • Terrible
      Terrible  •  9 mths ago
      Shell said last week that "a finite amount leaked". 100s of tons is finite?
      • Arnold Walker
        Arnold Walker 9 mths ago
        It sure as hell isn't infinite.And why do you think Shell took time to investigate the damage?Greenpeace and company fishing for a barrel of money.Why do do think government was investigating before they made a statement.... Greenpeace and company fishing for a barrel of money.If they report the damage it going be for all they can imagine.... much less happened for the barrel of money.Not to fix it or anything else other than the barrel of money they can grab.
      • Arnold Walker
        Arnold Walker 9 mths ago
        The realty is Shell had a problem fixed it ,and is cleaning up the mess.
        But that isn't enough for a group that is looking for a barrel of money instead of fixing the problem.
    • sickofitall
      sickofitall  •  9 mths ago
      it won't be long now....we'll be awash in oil (literally) and have nothing to eat...
      "Where every prospect pleases, only man is vile" .... we are the only animal on the planet to deliberately, relentlessly and ruthlessly to foul own own home...
      • Arnold Walker
        Arnold Walker 9 mths ago
        Not so sure of that ....we have ferral hogs 'plowing the fields",jellyfish threatening the world's coast more every day,elephants rooting up trees during drought season,and not to mention domestic animals that don't cleanup behind themselves......And I haven't even started on animals that foul their own home.
    • Free to be Infinity
      Free to be Infinity  •  9 mths ago
      Yes, as all of these oil spills continue to happen day after day, and we still drill for oil. The human species is the most ignorant of all. They get signs time after time that they are going in the wrong direction, but they continue down the same path. A path to total destruction. Your food supplies are dwindling and dwindling, and you are still too ignorant to change. You are so addicted to stuff, that you would rather have stuff than to have a sustainable planet. I just feel sorry for all of the other species that are suffering at the hand of the human species. I feel sorry for all of the children that are suffering at the hand of the adults that should know better, and should care more for their children than to leave them with an unsustainable planet.
      • Terrible
        Terrible 9 mths ago
        "You are a very interesting species (humans). You are the only species who will put monetary gain over your physical well being." Transcendors
        You post in the third person. Bootes?
    • Peace
      Peace  •  9 mths ago
      Quote:"The government said the oil would disperse naturally"
      I'd like to send the government officials responsible for that statement on vacation with their families in the very same spot to see how "natural" everything is after an oil spill...
      Scumbags!
      • Arnold Walker
        Arnold Walker 9 mths ago
        History has proved it from time past.....why have you not learnt about bacteria and other forms of house cleaners that mother nature uses .
        Other wise the ocean would have been a big tar ball from the vents a million years ago.
      • Greg
        Greg 9 mths ago
        Oil wells have been leaking oil for 1000's of years. I doubt the occisonal man made spill will have lasting consequences. Although we are having was to many of them. Something does need to be done about the careless oil companies. By the way oils well leak less or not at all after man taps them. No I do not work for or own stock in the oils companies. I just try to learn all the facts before befor I start typing and look like a fool.
    • Fred
      Fred  •  9 mths ago
      Pretty slick story.
    • Patrick Jacov
      Patrick Jacov  •  9 mths ago
      The wee beasties have some more oil to eat. More than that is seeping from natural oil vents around the world. I wouldn't be surprised if more than that is leaking from the natural vents in the Gulf of Mexico and off California. The over burden is no longer able to contain the pressure of the oil(s) and will start to vent more and more oil into the environment. Drill it or lose it.
      • Arnold Walker
        Arnold Walker 9 mths ago
        Catalina,California vents more than that.But you don't see a herd of
        eco freaks scared the birds are going to drop dead ,from oil at least.
        Sewage from LA and to some degree most of Southern California maybe ,but not oil. Hey it is government doing the polluting so it must be ok. Wonder were all that plastic, they are talking about it is coming from, maybe cities doing open sea dumping.City/state governments can't be sued to the degree of individuals and companies,so why would eco groups frog over to the money.
        And the worse they make it sound the more the money for them.
        Look at the standard they are trying to place on pipelines ...you have to guarantee that it will never fail.With that standard Greenpeace can't even sail their own ship for fear of it wrecking(which they have done already...pirating in the Pacific in the path of whale ships) and spilling oil.
        Much less the tankers that this oilline is replacing.Or the fishing vessels and other marine craft.
      • Patrick Jacov
        Patrick Jacov 9 mths ago
        Wow, There's a man that's done his homework. Good reply Arnold. Thank you. Sorry for taking so long to reply to your reply.
    • J
      J  •  9 mths ago
      KEEP SUCKIN THE HUGE OIL PIPE make ALL OF US TOXIC
    • shelly
      shelly  •  9 mths ago
      They like to say ok, everything is just fine, as in the Japan nucleur attack. Did people realize that from the tsunmi, that there is a line of junk floating in the ocean from there towards CA, the size of CA, it will reach there in 2013 or 14, I read. No safe swimming or boating when that gets near! And all that junk on the beaches in the future.
    • w
      w  •  9 mths ago
      means their friends in the GOV will be getting a smaller payment this month
    • A Yahoo! User  •  9 mths ago
      Shell is using the spin of tonnage as oppsed to a volume, like per gallon or barrels of of oil. This is a slick ploy to downplay the amount that has leaked out.

      The core of the petroleum indistry are truly a bunch of money grubbing scumbags. Until government makes the fines for this more then the company can bare then it will continue to happen.
    • charna
      charna  •  9 mths ago
      What did Dick Cheney know and when did he know it?
    • Tao Sheng
      Tao Sheng  •  9 mths ago
      Keep dumping pollution everywher, folks!

      You will love how your food tastes: spicy polluted!!
    • Delta
      Delta  •  9 mths ago
      All the safety records are messaged and don't really tell the truth. All whistle blowers will be fired or killed.This is the standard of the oil industry and nuclear plants as well.
    • K.
      K.  •  9 mths ago
      we're killing our world
    • Woodman
      Woodman  •  9 mths ago
      Oil to replace salt water of this once beauiful orb!
    • Concerned citizen
      Concerned citizen  •  9 mths ago
      Warning the local fishing boats, is nice......monitoring the situation, is nice......WHAT are they doing to stop the friggin' leak???????????
    • on student loan
      on student loan  •  9 mths ago
      negs all around.
    • Mel
      Mel  •  9 mths ago
      OOPS!!
    • The Friar
      The Friar  •  9 mths ago
      This is the same company that our own politicians have sold out to--now they are going to spill oil in the Arctic.
    • David
      David  •  9 mths ago
      I think it's a pay off to drive the prices up world wide. All the #$%$ we have been thur for 50 years i can see it very well
     Post a comment
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