* Leak at N.Sea platform could have been "major accident"
* Watchdog identifies "serious breaches" of regulations
* "We are addressing the problem" -BP
By Nerijus Adomaitis
OSLO, April 29 (Reuters) - Oil major BP must reviewthe way it handles risk and maintenance at its offshore oilplatforms in Norway following a leak at a North Sea platformthat could have caused a major accident, Norway's oil safetywatchdog said on Monday.
Last September some 1,600 kilogrammes of gas and 125 barrelsof oil leaked from the production platform at the Ula field inthe Norwegian section of the North Sea, a quantity consideredsignficant by the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway.
"The incident had the potential to become a major accident,with the risk that a number of lives might have been lost andsubstantial material damage caused," the agency said on Monday.
The watchdog was concerned by the incident as BP had alreadybeen told to improve the way it handles maintenance at ageingplatforms following a fire at the Valhall field in the North Seain 2011.
The leak at Ula was caused by the fracturing of the boltsholding together a valve in a separator outlet. Production wasshut for 67 days. No one was injured.
"The investigation has identified a number of seriousbreaches of the regulations, related in part to BP's managementsystem for activities (off Norway)," the PSA said. "Deficienciesstill exist in the maintenance system."
BP said it was addressing the issues raised by the watchdog."The findings closely match BP's own investigation and work hasalready started to address the issues raised and to fully complywith the orders by the end of 2013," said Jan Erik Geirmo, aspokesman for BP Norway.
Ula is estimated to hold 98.8 million barrels of recoverableoil reserves, according to data from the Norwegian PetroleumDirectorate. BP owns 80 percent of the field and is theoperator. Denmark's DONG Energy holds 20 percent.