Royal Dutch Shell said its ruptured pipeline in the North Sea continued to leak oil today in what is thought to be the worst oil spill since 2000.
The company was not able to give an estimate of when it expects the pipeline to stop seeping oil, said a spokesman.
Shell said around 216 tonnes of oil, equivalent to 1,300 barrels, had leaked into the North Sea in a "significant spill", but the rate at which it was flowing had reduced to around 5 barrels a day today.
"What I do understand is yesterday it (the visible oil slick) was half a kilometre square ... and that has been reducing overnight," the spokesman told Reuters.
Shell's update on the leak came as criticism was levelled at the company by environmental groups for its lack of transparency. Sensitivities remain high about marine oil leaks in the aftermath of BP Plc's massive Gulf of Mexico spill last year.
Reuters