State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) postpones the startup of Buzzard phase 2 in the UK North Sea due to low oil prices. The second development of the Buzzard oil field was initially due to come onstream in this year’s second half, but it was postponed to 2021. CNOOC’s average realised oil and gas prices fell 40.1% and 2.8% year-on-year, respectively, in the first half of this year. The company also lowered its production target and capex after oil prices collapsed in late March.
Buzzard is the biggest oil field in the UK, which is also the largest contributor to the Forties crude blend, one of the five grades that underpin the North Sea Dated benchmark. Buzzard’s crude output is slowing down from around 121,000 bpd last year to 95,000 bpd this year, according to Ineos, which operates the Forties Pipeline System (FPS).
