LONDON, April 28 (UPI) -- A North Sea oil pipeline for Britain could close if authorities need to move an unexploded World War II-era mine from the area, an energy spokesman said.
British energy company BP said it discovered an unexploded German mine during routine operations near a North Sea oil pipeline serving Britain, The Guardian newspaper in London reports.
BP said the mine was found 25 miles off the coast of Scotland in about 300 feet of water. A coast guard vessel was on scene, though the energy company said there wasn't any immediate danger.
A BP spokesman told the newspaper that a robotic vehicle would probably tow the mine to an area where it can be detonated safely.
"If we do need to remove and dispose of it then we may need to shut the pipeline for a few days," the spokesman added.
Russia energy giant Gazprom is nearly finished with a major section of its Nord Stream natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea to Europe.
Littoral states to the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland had expressed concerns over the environmental impact of pipeline construction, which was hampered by unexploded ordnance from World War II strewn along the Baltic Sea floor.
