A planned shutdown of Britain’s North Sea Buzzard oilfield has been pushed back until next year.
The platform, which was originally pencilled in for shutdown this month, is the biggest field contributing to the Forties oil stream.
A Nexen spokesperson said: “Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd can confirm that a planned turnaround for Buzzard will be scheduled for next year.
“This decision was taken after the opportunity for critical maintenance work was completed during a controlled shutdown last month.”
As the largest of the four North Sea crudes used in the global Brent oil benchmark LCOc1, Buzzard production influences the global oil price.
The move will boost short-term supply of the crude, helping underpin the Brent benchmark.