EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Divers working with Shell have closed the relief valve that was leaking oil into the North Sea from the company's Gannet platform, the company said Friday.
Shell deployed divers and remote vehicles below the North Sea oil platform to examine the leak. The company said the divers managed to stop flow of oil, which had slowed from about 1,500 barrels last week to less than one barrel per day.
"Closing the valve is a key step," said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell's exploration and production activities in Europe, in a statement. "It was a careful and complex operation conducted by skilled divers, with support from our technical teams onshore. But we will be watching the line closely over the next 24 hours and beyond."
Cayley said the next step would be to remove oil built up in the flowline, a process he said could "take time."
Shell was criticized for taking two days to publicly disclose the Aug. 11 spill. Cayley told the BBC his company had difficulties in assessing the situation at the rig and was therefore cautious with its disclosure.
British officials had said they weren't notified until Aug. 12.
The company said it established a team to investigate the cause of the leak and would work with government officials as they conduct their own probe into the spill.
None of the oil leaked from the Gannet platform reached shore. Environmental conditions in the North Sea caused much of the spill to disperse.
