London, 25 October (Argus) — Operator Nexen tried to open wells on the UK North Sea 220,000 b/d Buzzard field this morning, but encountered problems. The field is likely to require at least another 36 hours before it can restart.

Canada-based Nexen said in its third-quarter results today that it is in the process of restarting the field but warned it could take up to 10 days.

It will then take 1-2 days for production to reach Forties terminal Hound Point.

The field was initially due to restart production 3 October after a 28 day maintenance period, but it has been plagued with technical issues that have forced back the restart date on several occasions.

The prolonged delay has resulted in every cargo of the October loading programme being delayed. At least six of them are now scheduled to load in November. So far, only one cargo - F1104 - has been dropped from the November programme, and F1106 has been deferred into December. Fresh deferrals have yet to be announced, but are expected to emerge shortly.

Buzzard production is the largest component of Forties crude. In late September, Buzzard was expected to constitute 43pc of Forties crude in October, according to data provided by Forties pipeline operator BP. However, this figure will be substantially lower even if the field comes into production this week.

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