North Sea field outage lifts crude prices

Crude prices ticked up on Thursday morning after a power outage shutdown the UK’s largest oil field.

According to Reuters, production was halted at the Nexen operated Buzzard field after power supplies failed.

The field usually produces between 170,000 to 180,000 barrels per day.

“There was a trip last night,” an unnamed crude oil trader told Reuters.

Alberta-based Nexen, a unit of China’s CNOOC, has not commented on the power outage or the field’s current production status.

According to Nexen, Buzzard supplies the UK with about 10 percent of its energy needs.

The field is located about 60 miles northeast of Aberdeen in the Outer Moray Firth, in 317 feet of water.

Brent crude ticked up 55 cents to $57.60 per barrel during early morning trading before settling back down to $57.40 per barrel by midday.

West Texas Intermediate crept up to $51.71 per barrel, up 30 cents from Wednesday’s closing price, before sliding back down to $51.30 around noon.

The price hike was also supported by news from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that U.S. crude inventories dipped by 4.3 million barrels last week thanks to record refinery throughput.