Oil giant Shell has confirmed that it will undertake a phased increase in production within the “coming days” from its Shearwater and Nelson platforms now that the Forties pipeline has been mechanically repaired.
Ineos confirmed yesterday that it expects the North Sea pipeline to be back to normal rates “around New Year”.
Following Ineos’ announcement, BP and Shell confirmed that they would begin partial restarts to production.
A Shell spokesperson said today: “Shell UK can confirm that production operations have restarted on the Shearwater and Nelson platforms in the central North Sea, with a phased increase in production planned over the coming days.”
The crack and subsequent leak in the Forties pipeline has caused widespread disruption since its discovery nearly three weeks ago.
While there have been North Sea shutdowns in production, there is also the concern about shipments and stocks getting to where they need to be.
The 235-mile pipeline system links more than 80 North Sea field to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth, delivering almost 40% of the UK’s North Sea production.
Recommended for you
