STAVANGER, Norway, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- It's too early to say when production from the Gudrun platform in the North Sea will resume following reports of a gas leak, Norway's Statoil said Thursday. The Petroleum Safety Authority in Norway said production at the North Sea platform was closed as a result of a gas leak. The PSA said the size of the leak was not yet determined.
Statoil press spokesman Orjan Heradstveit said in response to email questions there were no injuries to the platform's staff and no environmental damage came as a result of the release.
"We're investigating the incident," he said. "It's still a little early to say when we'll resume production."
Statoil, alongside its partners at French energy company GDF Suez and Austria's OMV, started production at Gudrun in April. The company said the field should produce as much as 184 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent over its lifespan.
Gudrun is Statoil's first new operation on the Norwegian continental shelf in nearly a decade. The field itself was discovered in 1975. The company described it as a megaproject, representing more than $1.9 billion in investments for Statoil.
Norway is a regional leader in oil and natural gas production, helping to meet the energy needs of its neighbors. Hydrocarbons produced from Gudrun are sent to onshore production facilities and then on to European consumers through existing pipeline networks.
