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North Sea oil rig closed after leak

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. said it was monitoring hydrocarbon levels in the North Sea after a leak was found on a pipeline from the Cormorant Alpha platform.

The company, known also as Taqa, said it confirmed a leak from the platform and has since shut it down along with eight other installations in the North Sea.

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"The hydrocarbons are contained within the platform leg and none have been released into the environment," the company said in a statement.

The installation is located about 232 miles off the coast of Scotland. The company said it deployed helicopters to pull non-essential crew members from the installation. Taqa stated that all 159 workers on site were safe.

"We have stopped all non-essential work on the platform to focus all our efforts on addressing this issue," the company said in a statement.

The Cormorant Alpha platform processes about 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

A 2011 release of 1,300 barrels of oil from Shell's Gannet platform in the North Sea was the largest oil spill in the region in more than a decade.

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No oil from the Gannet spill reached shore and much of the original sheen dispersed naturally.

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