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Total hit by North Sea gas leak
Total UK has shut down oil and gas production from its Elgin Franklin platform in the North Sea and evacuated staff following a gas leak on Sunday, the company said yesterday. Total UK said that operations had ceased and that all 238 personnel had been accounted for and no injuries had been reported. A gas cloud was visible from seven miles away, witnesses said yesterday. The peak production capability for the Elgin Franklin field is 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, 175,000 barrels per day condensate and 15.5m cubic metres of gas per day (mcm/d), according to Total. The cause of the leak was still unknown and investigations were ongoing, Total said.