North Sea Forties January Export Slump on Pipeline Issue

North Sea Forties crude oil exports fell to 2.8mn barrels in January, down from 6.3mn original scheduled in the loading plan, as several cargoes were diverted to the Grangemouth refinery following a leak in the Finnart pipeline, sources told Bloomberg.

• Only four instead of nine cargoes scheduled loaded from the Hound Point terminal in Scotland last month.
• The remaining 3.5m bbl of Forties were likely being fed into the Grangemouth refinery, which is connected to the Forties Pipeline System, people said.
• In early January, PetroIneos reported a small leak at the pipeline to the Finnart terminal. It is unclear when the terminal will be back online but a tanker – the Suezmax Sienna – is scheduled to arrive at Finnart on 3 Feb, Vortexa data showed.