Oil Spill in the North Sea

Royal Dutch Shell estimated Monday that 54,600 gallons of oil had spilled into the North Sea from an oil rig off Scotland’s eastern coast. The Gannet Alpha rig, 112 miles east of Aberdeen, is operated by Shell and co-owned by Shell and Esso, a subsidiary of the American company Exxon Mobil. Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell’s European exploration and production activities, called the spill “significant,” but said he believed that waves would disperse the oil sheen and that the spill was not expected to reach the shore. It was not clear when the leak began last week.