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Tuesday, 02 December, 2008, 04:10 GMT | more >>

BHP declares Cossack force majeure



By Upstream staff 

Australian producer BHP Billiton has declared force majeure on a 650,000-barrel cargo of July-loading Australian Cossack crude after experiencing production problems at the oilfield, traders said today.

The producer said in a force majeure notice that several problems, including a gas trip that forced the full shutdown of the facility at one point, had caused the monthly production of Cossack to be 700,000 barrels below the initial forecast, according to a trader who had seen the document.

The output problems, which likely started in June, may not have been resolved yet, the trader told Reuters, adding this may explain why BHP declared force majeure.

Cossack, Australia's largest oilfield, has been plagued with problems over the past few years as the field ages and production has fallen to around 90,000 to 100,000 barrels per day.

Production had been running at full rates since it was curtailed by cyclones earlier this year.

Cossack Pioneer is the oil producing part of the North West Shelf oil and gas joint venture off the coast of Western Australia.

The six equal partners in the North West Shelf joint-venture are Woodside Petroleum, BHP, Chevron, BP, Japan Australia LNG (MiMi) and Woodside's 34% shareholder, Shell.


Tuesday, 03 July, 2007, 11:17 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 03 July, 2007, 11:17 GMT

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