LONDON: Oil prices rose on Thursday after a power outage closed the UK’s largest oilfield, restricting flows to the North Sea’s main oil stream that underpins the global benchmark Brent crude.
Oil prices were also supported by data on Wednesday that showed a fall in U.S. crude inventories.
Brent crude for August was up 55 cents at $57.60 a barrel by 1035 GMT. U.S. light crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI, was up 30 cents at $51.71.
Britain’s Buzzard oilfield, which normally pumps 170,000 to 180,000 barrels per day, was closed after power supplies failed, traders said. A spokeswoman for Buzzard operator Nexen, a unit of China’s CNOOC, declined to comment.
There was a trip last night,” said one crude oil trader, who declined to be identified.
Buzzard is the single biggest contributor to the Forties crude stream, one of four crude grades underpinning the price of over-the-counter Brent, which is linked to Brent futures.
Brent’s front-month August futures contract, due to expire later on Thursday, moved to a premium of 30 cents a barrel above the September contract on the Buzzard news, its highest premium for more than two months.
