(Reuters) - North Sea maintenance work has forced delays to as many as 14 of the 24 Forties crude oil cargoes scheduled to load in September and another cargo has been dropped entirely, trade sources said on Friday.
The delays follow problems at Britain's Buzzard oilfield, operated by Canada's Nexen , and maintenance on the BP Plc operated Forties pipeline. Forties shipments have been subject to delays and cancellations since May.
The delays have helped tighten supply in the North Sea, home of the dated Brent benchmark used to price up to 70 percent of the world's physical crude oil cargoes, and supported Brent relative to U.S. crude futures. CL-LCO1=R
Strong consumer demand for high quality, light oil products has pushed up premiums for physical Brent cargoes to their highest for more than three years this week. (Reporting by Christopher Johnson)
