The field was shut down in March last year following a gas leak that lasted over seven weeks and was caused by gas flowing into a well that had been capped earlier.

Total chief executive Christophe de Margerie said at the World Economic Forum in Davos the field would restart within days or weeks.

However, before production can resume, Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has to decide whether the field is safe to restart.

"HSE has received the safety case from Total and is considering it," a spokesman for HSE said.

Total previously said it expected to lose more than $300 million from lost production if Elgin did not restart in 2012.

The platform usually produces 3 percent of Britain's gas and is one of the deepest and most highly pressurised wells in the world.

It usually pumps 9 million cubic metres of gas daily and 60,000 barrels of light oil per day, according to Total.