Major gas plant in Norway evacuated following threat
A major natural gas processing plant in western Norway, a vital source of supply to the UK, was briefly evacuated Thursday after a threatening phone call, police said.
Having become Europe's main supplier of natural gas after Russian supplies were cut in the wake of the war in Ukraine, the Scandinavian country has stepped up security around its oil and gas facilities following the alleged sabotage of two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
On Thursday morning, Norwegian police first reported an "unclear situation" at the Nyhamna plant, which receives, processes and exports gas from Ormen Lange -- the country's second largest offshore gas field.
Police said they had deployed resources to the scene, without specifying the nature of the incident. Moments later, it sent another tweet to announce that the situation had been "clarified".
"A threat was sent by phone," Odd Jorgen Nilssen, mayor of Aukra, where the plant is located, told AFP.
The incident led to the temporary evacuation of the site, which is operated by Shell on behalf of Norwegian pipeline operator Gassco.
Shell Norway spokesman Jan Soppeland told AFP later on Thursday that staff had returned to work and that "production is back to normal."
Police said in a statement that the caller was known to have made similar calls in the past.
"There is no indication that the threat was real and we are back to a normal situation," it added.
The Nyhamna plant supplies about 20 percent of the UK's gas needs through Langeled, a 1,200-kilometre (750-mile) pipeline running under the North Sea.
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Having become Europe's main supplier of natural gas after Russian supplies were cut in the wake of the war in Ukraine, the Scandinavian country has stepped up security around its oil and gas facilities following the alleged sabotage of two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
On Thursday morning, Norwegian police first reported an "unclear situation" at the Nyhamna plant, which receives, processes and exports gas from Ormen Lange -- the country's second largest offshore gas field.
Police said they had deployed resources to the scene, without specifying the nature of the incident. Moments later, it sent another tweet to announce that the situation had been "clarified".
"A threat was sent by phone," Odd Jorgen Nilssen, mayor of Aukra, where the plant is located, told AFP.
The incident led to the temporary evacuation of the site, which is operated by Shell on behalf of Norwegian pipeline operator Gassco.
Shell Norway spokesman Jan Soppeland told AFP later on Thursday that staff had returned to work and that "production is back to normal."
Police said in a statement that the caller was known to have made similar calls in the past.
"There is no indication that the threat was real and we are back to a normal situation," it added.
The Nyhamna plant supplies about 20 percent of the UK's gas needs through Langeled, a 1,200-kilometre (750-mile) pipeline running under the North Sea.
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