Fire officers evacuated on Monday a refinery in Belgium belonging to French energy giant Total after a gas leak, local media reported.

Some 300 employees were ordered out of the Total refinery in northern Antwerp at lunchtime and production halted when a "fairly significant" propylene gas leak was found, fireman Bert Brugghemans told RTL television's website.

Fire officers said the site and its immediate environs were secure and safe, but Brugghemans was quoted as saying: "There was a fairly significant leak of propylene gas from one of the pipes.

"Fire officers applied measures around the site, but there is no danger. The nasty odours are limited to the company site."