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The Forties Pipeline System, which carries around 450,000 barrels per day of Forties crude from the North Sea to the Hound Point oil terminal, has been closed since Monday after operator INEOS said it had discovered a minor crack in onshore infrastructure.
Litasco, the trading arm of Russia's Lukoil, sold a 600,000-barrel cargo of Forties to Norway's Statoil for loading between January 9-11 at a premium of 70 cents to the dated Brent benchmark price in the Platts daily trading window.
Forties was last quoted at a premium of 65-75 cents above dated Brent.