LONDON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A British government agency said it was investigating who was responsible for an oil spill reported near a Talisman Energy facility in the North Sea.
Talisman reported a minor leak last week from an undersea pipeline tied to its Tartan Alpha installation in the North Sea's Galley field. The company told energy reporting Web site Rigzone that analysis of the crude oil taken from recent sheen observed in the area indicated it wasn't from the Galley field, however.
The British Department of Energy and Climate Change reported a sheen this week about 2 miles from the site. Talisman confirmed that about 12 tons of fluid was released from the subsea pipeline, of which 1.8 tons were oil. Aerial observations, however, estimated the size of the sheen to be 5-34 tons of oil.
A DECC spokesman told Rigzone that Talisman wasn't making a connection between the release from the subsea pipeline and sheen observed in the region.
"We're investigating it at this moment," the spokesman said.
A DECC statement issued to regional newspaper the Scotsman said the source of the sheen wasn't identified but there was nothing to suggest a release was ongoing.
The newspaper reported the size of the sheen represents about 800 barrels of oil, describing the incident as "a mystery."