Workers taken off oil platform over diesel contamination

A NUMBER of workers from the Magnus oil platform 100 miles north east of Shetland are being flown to the isles before heading home as operator BP continues to investigate how diesel contaminated its water supply.

Around 40 non-essential staff members are being taken off the installation, leaving around 140 workers on the platform.

The issue first reared its head earlier in November and while the amount of diesel contaminating the water supply doesn’t represent a health hazard, it is above the allowed levels.

A spokesman for BP, however, said the company is still working to find the source of the problem.

“A detailed inspection programme to determine the root cause of the potable water issue on Magnus is ongoing.

“In order to lessen the impact of this inspection work on the teams offshore we have decided to remove a small number of non-essential personnel from the platform,” he said.

“Around 40 of the 180 on board are expected to be taken off. Our priority remains to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those remaining on the platform and understand the source of contamination.”