BP says gas leak stopped off coast of Senegal, Mauritania
One of four wells at the GTA field was found leaking near an area Greenpeace Africa said was "home to the largest deep-water coral reef, a unique ecosystem in the world".
On Wednesday "the tree cap was installed, and we can confirm that the bubble release was visually observed to stop," the British energy giant said in a statement.
Production at the GTA field began on December 31 and the leak was discovered on February 19, drawing anger from NGOs including Greenpeace, which accused BP of a "total lack of transparency".
An association of fishermen in the Senegalese town of Saint-Louis, near the field, also expressed alarm about a "covert form of pollution whose impacts could be irreversible".
But BP said that "considering the low rate of release and the observed properties of the gas and condensate, the environmental impact of the release is currently assessed as negligible."
It pledged to continue testing and inspections of the site "for a period of time, to ensure no further release occurs".
The company aims for the field to produce around 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year.
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