North Sea exclusion zone set as gas surges from leak

(Reuters) - A massive cloud of explosive natural gas boiling out of the North Sea from a leak at Total's abandoned Elgin platform forced wider evacuations off the Scottish coast on Tuesday and an air and sea "exclusion zone" was declared.

Dubbed "the well from hell" by a Norwegian environmentalist who warned that the high pressure of the undersea gas exploited by the French firm made it especially hard to shut off, clouds of gas were seen by workers over the platform and a sheen of oil, also produced from the rig, was spreading over the water.

Total said it was unable to predict when or how the gas - and oil - leak would be contained. With memories still fresh of the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 blowout at a BP oil well, managers and British officials assured the public that there was little immediate threat.

Total said shipping had been ordered to come no closer than two miles from the Elgin platform and aircraft no nearer than three miles if they flew lower than 4,000 feet - effectively shutting out helicopters but not affecting airline traffic.

Shell cut staffing at two of its nearby facilities, the Shearwater production platform, which continued pumping oil, and the Noble Hans Deul exploration rig, which suspended drilling. Read More