UPDATE 2-BP says oil from North Sea spill to disperse naturally

(Adds details on spill size, comments from new statement)

LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - A technical problem at BP's Clair platform in the North Sea resulted in a spill of 95 tonnesof oil that was allowed to disperse naturally into the sea, theBritish oil major said on Monday.

Production at the platform, located 75 km west of theShetland Islands, was halted after the incident which took placeon Sunday.

BP said it was working together with oil spill andenvironmental experts from BP, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL)and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy(BEIS) to assess any potential environmental impact and to agreethe best way to respond.

"At present, we believe the most appropriate response is toallow the oil to disperse naturally at sea, but contingenciesfor other action are being prepared," BP said in a statement.

The most likely volume of oil that went into the sea duringthe hour-long spill has been calculated from platform data asaround 95 tonnes, BP said.

By comparison, an average Suezmax tanker carries around100,000 tonnes of oil.

"Both direct observation from surveillance flights and oilspill modelling continue to show the oil moving in a northerlydirection away from land."

The most recent surveillance flight already indicatessignificant dispersal of the oil at the surface.

Britain's BEIS said it would hold an investigation todetermine the cause of the incident, which is standardprocedure.

"We are working closely with BP and the Maritime andCoastguard Agency to resolve the incident on the Clairplatform," a spokesman said.

There have been no reported injuries, the department added. (Reporting by Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps; Editing by DavidGoodman and David Evans)