Forties stream stabilises

Reuters have reported that the UK's Forties stream has been fairly stable in December, according to trade sources, after delays and cancelations throughout the year due to production problems at Buzzard.

The Forties stream is the largest of the four crude streams that make up the North Sea oil benchmark and was originally set up to load 24 cargoes of 600,000 barrels each, or around 465,000 bpd in January.

It is central to the global market as it sets the value of dated Brent, used to price up to 70 per cent of the world's physical oil and is part of Brent crude futures.

Recent reports show that the Buzzard oilfield remains at a healthy rate, with only minor adjustments to January's schedule. Many North Sea traders expected more delays in January, after the years stunted shipments. However, only one cargo ship has been delayed in January, compared to seven in December.

Trade sources within a Forties equity companies warned it may be too early to tell for January, but if only one deferral is being taken, this indicates the programme is fairly well balanced.