All 114 personnel are safe and well following the incident which occurred at midnight. The crew was called to muster before being stood down and the platform ramians fully crewed.

One source told Oil and Gas People the fire happened after some scaffolding boards burned against a turbine and some embers dropped into lube oil below the gratings. Those reports are unconfirmed.

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A CNR spokeswoman said: “Production was shutdown and the fire was swiftly extinguished. Personnel were called to muster at the time and all are safe and well, there are no plans to down man the installation.

“A full investigation into this incident is underway.”

Production remains shutdown however normal operations are expected to resume soon.

Ninian South is located 249 miles north east of Aberdeen.