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Shell is removing workers from two offshore installations close to a Total platform that was evacuated after a gas leak.
Oil giant Total has confirmed that a major gas leak on one of its North Sea platforms could take several months to stop and admitted there was a risk of explosion.
The leak on the Elgin PUQ platform, about 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Aberdeen, led to the withdrawal of all 238 workers.
All 238 staff were evacuated from the Elgin platform after the gas leak was discovered on Sunday afternoon. Shell is also removing workers from two offshore installations close to the Elgin platform.
Total E&P UK (TEP UK), which operates the platform, said it was taking "all possible measures" to try to identify the cause of the leak and to bring it under control. It has been confirmed there is a sheen on the water near the platform.
Total, the French oil and gas group, was unable to say whether the airborne fuel cloud around its leaking Elgin offshore platform was growing or shrinking despite describing the situation as "currently stable" on Sunday.
Oil Spill Response (OSRL) on Monday carried out two aerial surveillance flights to assess the situation and two further flights were planned for Tuesday.
"We continue to take all possible measures to try to identify the source and cause of the leak and to bring it under control," Total said.
Shell said it was removing 85 staff from its Shearwater platform and the nearby Noble Hans Deul drilling rig as a precautionary measure. The rigs are around four nautical miles (4.6 miles) from the Elgin platform.
A spokesman said the cloud, which is visible to workers on near by platforms, was made up of condensate – described as being "like a very light petrol" – which the company said would ultimately evaporate in the atmosphere.
Drilling operations on the Noble Hans Deul rig have been suspended and the wells have been left in a safe state, Shell said.
Last year documents obtained by the Guardian showed the two rigs with the most frequent oil spills in the North Sea in recent years were owned by Shell and Total.
A Shell spokesman said: "While the move is purely precautionary and primarily driven by the prevailing weather conditions, and both facilities remain operational, it has been decided to reduce numbers to a more manageable level until the full situation surrounding the Elgin leak has been established."
The papers, released under freedom of information laws, revealed for the first time the names of companies that caused more than 100 potentially lethal and largely unpublicised oil and gas spills in the North Sea in 2009 and 2010.
Shell is removing 52 workers from Shearwater, leaving 38 on board, while 33 are being taken off the Hans Deul, leaving 79.
In relation to the current leak, Total said it was liaising closely with the Health and Safety Executive, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Marine Scotland and the coastguard.
Following the discovery of the leak on Sunday, 219 staff were removed from the Elgin platform.
Nineteen core crew were initially left on board but were taken off overnight between Sunday and Monday and flown to Aberdeen. There have been no reports of any injuries.
Aberdeen coastguard co-ordinated the evacuation of the Elgin platform. Coastguard watch manager Kevin Brown said three rescue helicopters and four civilian helicopters helped with the process.
TEP UK said it had met the secretary of state's representative, the Health and Safety Executive, the Department of Energy and Climate change, Marine Scotland and the coastguard.
The company said it had also mobilised experts from elsewhere in the Total Group to offer additional assistance and help deal with the incident.
The company said it had also mobilised experts from elsewhere in the Total Group to offer additional assistance and help deal with the incident.
In a statement, the company said: "Total E&P UK confirms that the gas leak at the Elgin Well Head Platform remains ongoing, although the situation is currently stable.
"We continue to take all possible measures to try to identify the source and cause of the leak and to bring it under control."
The company said the precise cause of the leak remained unclear.
