Fears of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico triggered a slide in the shares of energy giant Royal Dutch Shell yesterday.
The alert came after the Anglo-Dutch company notified the authorities of a light sheen on waters near to its production facilities.
It is "confident" the oil sheen did originate from wells in its Mars or Ursa projects but, out of "prudent caution", has sent a response vessel to investigate further.
With BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 fresh in the minds of investors, shares in the firm dropped as much as 5% yesterday before recovering after Shell said all its operations in the area appeared to be operating normally.
Shell said: "An inspection to date of Shell assets reveals operations in the area are normal with no sign of leaks. We have also confirmed there are no well control issues associated with our drilling operations."
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