The closure of the Brent pipeline system had little impact on the price of oil yesterday afternoon.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude was just under £70, down 31p on the day.
Dmitry Dovgan, an analyst at industry specialist Douglas-Westwood, said: “The shut-in of the Brent pipeline system is significant to the extent that it accounts for around 8% of offshore production in the UK and it is the export route for some 20 fields, so the impact will be felt far wider than just the Cormorant field.
“If the pipeline remains offline for a significant time it will potentially impact onshore operations on Shetland and could temporarily increase the UK’s net import requirements.”
In total, 27 fields have been affected, some of these being subsea tie-backs, said Taqa.
Taqa said it was too early to say when the Cormorant Alpha platform would be brought back into production.