BP and Statoil have pulled staff from their gas plants in Algeria following an attack.

The UK and Norwegian energy giants made the decision after the In Salah Gas plant was hit by a rocket on Friday.

Statoil said the attack was carried out by the use of a vehicle and a mobile weapon firing explosives at the plant, with three strikes in total.

More than 600 employees were present at the In Salah Gas plant, with three from Statoil and five from BP.

However there were no reports of any injuries.

The incident is the second terror attack on BP’s Algerian assets in the last three years.

The operators added they have shut the gas processing plant as a safety precaution.

BP said the full emergency response structure “continues to be mobilised to assess the situation”.

A spokesperson added: “BP’s first priority is the safety and security of people. Acting on this principle, BP has decided to undertake a phased temporary relocation of all its staff from the In Salah Gas and In Amenas JVs in Algeria over the next two weeks. This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure.”

Statoil said: “Statoil is now undertaking a phased temporary relocation out of Algeria of its entire staff from In Salah, In Amenas and Hassi Messaoud sites over the next weeks. This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure and in collaboration with our partner BP.”