Forties Crude Cargos Dropped Due to North Sea Field Shutdown

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Two more cargoes of North Sea Forties crude have been dropped from the April loading program and one delayed by several days as Total SA‘s (TOT) Elgin and Franklin fields remain shut due to a gas leak, North Sea traders said Friday.

Cargoes F0415 and F0418 have been dropped and cargo F0411 deferred by several days, traders said. In the original loading program for April all three cargoes were marked as held by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA).

Earlier this week, Total also dropped a Forties cargo, traders have said.

The company’s Elgin and Franklin fields were producing about 60,000 barrels a day of Forties crude, the main component of global benchmark Brent, before the leak started Sunday.

As a result of the leak, Shell decided to bring forward maintenance on its nearby Shearwater field.

Despite the shutdowns, the grade’s prices have been weak due to lackluster buying interest. The latest cargo to be sold in the price-setting late afternoon trade was a week ago.

-By Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires

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