A major incident has been declared after about 200 barrels of reservoir fluid including oil leaking into the water at Poole Harbour in Dorset. Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) said a leak occurred at a pipeline operated by gas company Perenco, under Owers Bay on Sunday. Members of the public have been urged not to swim at Poole Harbour or the surrounding area until further notice. Perenco said the situation was “under control” and a clean-up was underway. The company said a small amount of reservoir fluid – made up of 85% water and 15% oil – escaped from the pipeline. The leak came from Wytch Farm, an oil field and processing facility which produces around 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Poole Harbour commissioners, who regulate activities on the harbour, said Perenco reported “no risk” of further leakage, and the surface slick is “already dispersing”. Poole is the largest natural harbour in Europe and a site of special scientific interest which is home to a range of wading birds. In a statement, PHC said: “It is estimated that approximately 200 barrels of reservoir fluid have been released into the water column in Poole Harbour.
“Anyone who has come into contact with the spill should wash immediately with soap and water. If eyes have come into contact with the spill, they should be rinsed with water.” It added it had activated its oil spill plan and the pipeline had been shut down, with booms placed on either side of the leak. Companies specializing in oil spill response have also been mobilized, according to PHC. Poole Harbour commissioners said a further assessment of the clean-up operation would be made on Monday morning.
Franck Dy, Perenco UK’s Wytch Farm general manager, said: “Any spill is an extremely serious matter and a full investigation will be launched to ascertain what happened in Poole Harbour. “It is important to stress that the situation is under control, with the discharge of fluids having been stopped and the spill is being contained.”
The MP for Poole, Sir Robert Syms, said he and neighbouring South Dorset MP Richard Drax have requested the government take an urgent question on the incident on Monday. Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council said it was “working as part of a multi-agency response to the major incident declared this afternoon”. In a statement on Twitter, council leader Philip Broadhead, added the leak had been declared as a major incident so that “all relevant partner agencies [were] working together”.
