A major gas leak on a North Sea platform went undetected for nearly an hour and half, it has emerged.

The problem was only noticed when a worker on the Kittiwake smelled the gas 84 minutes after it began escaping - but by then more than 1670kg had leaked from the fractured steel pipe.

The release was not picked up by the platform’s flammable gas detection system, which is supposed to alert the crew to leaks.

In a report released on Wednesday, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told Petrofac to ensure an event similar to the March 20 leak does not happen again.

The HSE said: “[Petrofac] failed to take measures to detect accumulation of gas following a major release on Kittiwake.

“The current estimate of the release is 1670kg. The flammable gas detection system failed to detect the gas release in the early hours of March 20 over a period estimated to be 84 minutes.

“One of your employees was able to detect the release by sense of smell on the opposite side the module.”

Source: news.stv.tv

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