UPDATE: Aug Forties Cargoes Deferred On Unstable Output -Trade

15th Jul 2010 16:18

(Adds Buzzard production hiccups, technical glitch on FPS.) By Sherry Su Of Dow Jones Newswires LONDON (Dow Jones)--Some North Sea Forties crude oil cargoes for August loading have been deferred by 1-3 days partly due to unstable production caused by maintenance, traders said Thursday. At least five cargoes are heard to have been deferred, they said. It remains to be seen if there will be more deferrals in the short term. Production at the 200,000-barrel-a-day Buzzard field, the largest in Forties system, hasn't been very stable recently. "Buzzard had a couple minor hiccups over the last week or so, but they were minor and production is up to full rates now," said spokesman Tim Chatten of operator Nexen Inc. (NXY). There was also a technical glitch on the Forties Pipeline System, operated by BP PLC (BP). Earlier this week, Nexen shut its Scott platform in the North Sea due to "a valve failure on the Forties pipeline system", the company said Thursday in its second-quarter earnings statement. Forties loading program showed only 20 standard 600,000-barrel cargoes are scheduled to load in August, compared with 29 for July. Cargo deferrals and lower output have pushed up Forties price. Wednesday, Vitol placed a bid for August 3-6 loading at a high premium of 40 cents a barrel over Dated Brent, but still failed to find any sellers. Parcel No. Original Dates Revised Dates Volume(Bbl) Lifters F0802 Aug 4-6 Aug 7-9 600,000 ConocoPhillips F0808 Aug 13-15 Aug 16-18 600,000 Nexen F0813 Aug 20-22 Aug 21-23 600,000 Nexen F0816 Aug 24-26 Aug 26-28 600,000 Nexen F0818 Aug 26-28 Aug 27-29 600,000 ConocoPhillips Source: Traders -By Sherry Su, Dow Jones Newswires; +44(0)20-7842-9329; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 15, 2010 11:18 ET (15:18 GMT)