LONDON: North Sea crude price differentials edged higher on Thursday, gaining some respite after a three-day slide this week, as traders looked ahead to November when supply of the Forties stream will likely slow because of maintenance.
Operator Nexen, part of China's state-owned CNOOC, said on Wednesday maintenance on the Buzzard field, which contributes the most to the Forties stream, would be delayed to November from October.
Buzzard pumps less than 0.2 percent of daily world oil supply, but given Forties is the largest of the four North Sea grades used to set the global Brent oil price, any slowdown can affect the price of crude.
North Sea differentials have struggled to break much above a premium of $1.00 for the last 12 months, as a large overhang of supply has dragged on prices.
"While support for outright prices from the physical Brent market has been scarce lately, the picture for the coming weeks is beginning to look somewhat tighter," consultants JBC said.
"While the maintenance push-back is likely already feeding into the persistent pressure on North Sea differentials in the near-term, there are prospects for this picture to look slightly different once the assessment window rolls over to take November-loading cargoes into account," JBC said.
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