Oil up on U.S. crude stocks draw, Forties outage supports

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles, while expectations for an extended shutdown of a major North Sea crude pipeline also continued to bolster markets.

Britain’s biggest pipeline from its North Sea oil and gas fields is likely to be shut for several weeks for repairs. On Wednesday morning, its operator said it was still considering repair options and reiterated that any repairs would take several weeks.

The pipeline, which carries about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Forties crude, was shut after a crack was found. It has particular significance to global markets because Forties is the largest out of the five crude oil streams that underpin the dated Brent benchmark.

A number of producers, including BP and Royal Dutch Shell, said they had closed down oil fields in response.

While the Forties shutdown has provided a price floor, flat price gains quickly evaporated in a global market that is still oversupplied and with output rising in the United States.
more at:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-up-on-u-s-crude-stocks-draw-forties-outage-supports-idUSKBN1E70AT