On Monday, the price of Brent crude dropped by almost 3%, reaching a low of just under $78 per barrel due to market conjecture that major oil-producing nations in the Opec+ group, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, were planning to increase exports later in the year.
Wider energy infrastructure, including the Nyhamna processing plant that exports gas to the UK, was forced to suspend operations after damage was found aboard the Sleipner Riser platform, according to pipeline operator Gassco.
Head of pipeline system operations Alfred Hansen of the business told the news agency Reuters that “this has big consequences from a supply perspective.”
Although there were ways to get around Sleipner, he said they were risky and time-consuming.
The estimated time to fix the fracture was not provided.
The shutdowns affect delivery to the Easington terminal, one of the UK’s six primary import and storage facilities, which is situated off the Humber Estuary.
Following the unannounced stoppage, LSEG data revealed a 10% increase in the UK contract for July delivery to 90p per therm.
It was around the end of December last year when the pricing was last observed.
