Workers evacuated as Norwegian engineers pump cement into offshore well to prevent explosion as Deepwater crisis highlights environmental dangers of drilling
Boats tackle the blaze on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico which exploded on 21 April. Photograph: KPA/Zuma/Rex Features
Ninety oil workers have been evacuated from a North Sea rig as engineers fight to control a huge build up of pressure in a well which critics say has the potential to blow-up the platform and cause a major environmental problem.
The Norwegian company Statoil has been pumping cement into an offshore well on the Gullfaks field in an operation similar to the one being attempted today by BP in the Gulf of Mexico.
The equivalent of around 70,000 barrels of oil a day of production from the Gullfaks C, Tordis and Gimle platforms has been shut down and more than 90 staff evacuated from the area, which lies in Norwegian waters.
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