It is “a major incident” which was declared Sunday in Poole Harbour, a port in the south of England. An oil leak took place, coming from the Wytch Farm land deposit operated by the Franco-British oil group Perenco, local authorities said.
“The operators informed us today that a leak had occurred at the facility,” said Philip Broadhead, the local council manager, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council, in a statement. “Although it was contained, we are told oil leaked into the water and the surrounding area.”
A “limited” leak
Port authorities, Poole Harbor Commissioners (PHC), said the leak occurred on a pipeline operated by Perenco, according to the BBC. The company Perenco UK, which operates Wytch Farm, for its part mentioned in a press release a “limited” leak. “Perenco UK’s incident management team was immediately activated, the leak was stopped and booms were deployed to protect Poole Harbour,” the company added.
“Perenco UK is working closely with the relevant authorities and a clean-up operation is underway.” “A full investigation will be launched to determine what happened at Poole Harbour,” added Franck Dy, managing director of Perenco UK at Wytch Farm. “The situation is under control,” he said. On its website, PHC describes Poole Harbor as the largest natural harbor in Europe. Wytch Farm, which has been in operation since 1979, is one of the largest onshore oil fields in Europe, according to Philip Broadhead.