Oil prices rise on drawdown in US crude stockpiles and North Sea pipeline repairs
London — Oil prices rose on Wednesday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude stockpiles, while expectations for an extended shutdown of a major North Sea crude pipeline also continued to bolster markets. Brent crude was up 42c at $63.76 a barrel by 11.22am GMT. It had settled down $1.35, or 2.1%, on Tuesday on a wave of profit-taking after the North Sea pipeline shutdown helped send the global benchmark above $65 for the first time since mid-2015. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4c at $57.55 a barrel. Britain’s biggest pipeline from its North Sea oil and gas fields is likely to be shut for several weeks for repairs. On Wednesday morning, its operator said it was still considering repair options and reiterated that any repairs would take several weeks. The pipeline, which carries about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Forties crude, was shut after a crack was found. It has particular significance to global markets because Forties is the larg...
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