Gunmen in a stand-off with Algerian forces at a gas compound have reportedly demanded safe passage with hostages - amid reports that 15 foreigners have now escaped.
Thirty Algerian workers have already fled from Islamist attackers, according to earlier reports.
Extremists were known to be holding several Britons and other Westerners hostage, but a local television station said a group of foreigners, including two French people, had also made it out.
William Hague earlier condemned the killing of a Briton at the plant near the border with Libya as "cold-blooded murder".
The Briton and an Algerian were killed when around 20 attackers from an al Qaeda-backed group stormed the In Amenas facility, which is part-owned by BP.
They claimed to have seized 41 hostages, including several Britons, Americans and other Westerners, and have been in a stand-off with Algerian forces.
It is not clear how those reported to have escaped have managed to elude their captors.
Algerian forces are surrounding the plant, with army helicopters overhead Six people were wounded in Wednesday's attack, which the group claims is retaliation for the French military intervention against al Qaeda-backed rebels in neighbouring Mali.
The raid is believed to have been planned by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a one-eyed Islamist known as Mr Marlboro and The Uncatchable.
His group goes under various names including Khaled Abul Abbas Brigade, the Masked Ones and The Blood Battalion and is said to have links with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a Mali-based militant group that wants to overthrow Algeria's government.
Mr Hague said he was sceptical the raid was carried out retaliation for the offensive against Islamist fighters in Mali because it would take longer to plan.
Algerian interior minister Dahou Ould Kablia said his government would not negotiate with "terrorists".
An Algerian security official has said the government is in talks with the US and France over whether an international force could help.
David Cameron is chairing an emergency meeting on the crisis this morning. A team has been sent from the Foreign Office to reinforce British embassy and consular staff in Algeria.
Mr Cameron "expressed his sympathy and support" when he spoke to Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal on Wednesday evening.
In its latest statement, BP said the situation remains "unresolved and fragile" and that a number of its staff are among the hostages.
The Irish government has said a 36-year-old Irish national was among the hostages. He was believed to be unharmed.
The militant group Katibat Moulathamine - The Masked Ones - has claimed responsibility.
A spokesman for the Katibat was reported as saying that Westerners of nine or 10 nationalities had been taken hostage, including seven Americans.
The spokesman said the action was carried out in retaliation for Algeria allowing France to use its airspace to carry out raids on northern Mali. France now has 1,400 troops on the ground in Mali.
Britain has provided two RAF C-17 transport aircraft to support the operation as well as offering to share intelligence with Paris.
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