US oil firm Apache has lowered its fourth-quarter production outlook for its international business due to the Forties pipeline closure.
Apache, which has a base in the north-east, also said recent wells in the Beryl area of the North Sea had under-performed.
The Houston-headquartered firm predicts non-US production totalled 138,000 to 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the fourth quarter.
In October, Apache estimated the figure would be between 150,000 and 156,000 barrels.
The Forties Pipeline System was shut on December 11 after a crack in the structure was found near Aberdeen.
Apache had to halt production from the Forties field while repairs were carried out.
Flows through the system were restored around Christmas.
In the US, Q4 production is expected to be at the high end of the company’s guidance range of 218,000 to 224,000 barrels per day, driven primarily by strong quarter-over-quarter growth in the Permian Basin.
Apache’s chief executive John Christmann said: “Robust Brent crude prices enabled our international operations to generate strong free cash flow during the fourth quarter despite the reduction in production volumes.
“In the Permian, we delivered our second quarter in a row of strong oil production growth; and, at Alpine High, we achieved our production target of more than 25,000 BOE per day by the end of December.”
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