Small fire causes North Sea Buzzard oil field to close temporarily

24 April 2012

Posted by Neil Brunskill

The North Sea Buzzard oil field has been temporarily closed down following what was described as a small fire at the weekend.

A problem with a gas compressor is believed to have sparked the blaze and technicians halted output completely on Sunday (April 22nd).

It is thought that oil may not be pumped again there for another 48 hours while repairs are carried out, something that could affect heating oil prices in the short term.

This comes after Wintershall said earlier in April that it had struck oil close to the Gjoa field, potentially increasing annual North Sea output.

Buzzard typically pumps out 200,000 barrels each day, so the incident is likely to create delays in loading Forties crude, operator Nexen said.

No oil was leaked into the water and the Health and Safety Executive said there was no need for it to go offshore to investigate.

Despite fears over oil prices, traders told Reuters that there is enough crude in stock to ensure that the disruption to output should not have a significant impact.

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