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Forties Blend Quality

The information provided herein is for information only and does not affect the rights or obligations of any party pursuant to applicable FPS Transportation and Processing Agreements or other agreements.

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The information provided herein is given in good faith but its accuracy is not warranted and INEOS FPS Limited and its affiliates will have no liability to any party arising out of or in connection with the provision of such information or any party's reliance upon it regardless or any negligence or breach of duty of INEOS FPS Limited or its affiliates.

Forties Blend crude oil changed in quality at the beginning of 2007 when crude oil from the Buzzard field began production through the FPS. Although there are over seventy other fields making up Forties Blend, Buzzard is now the largest component field and it has altered the hydrocarbon characteristics of the Blend.

A detailed assay for Forties Blend is published on www.ineos.com and can be accessed using the following link: Forties Blend Assay

Buzzard is a medium gravity, sour crude with an API of 32.6º and a whole crude sulphur level of 1.44% wt. Distillation of the crude produces a yield structure similar to the Urals Blend exported to North West Europe. Buzzard is sour but is not otherwise poor in quality. The acidity is low with a Total Acid Number of 0.09 mgKOH/g. The pour point is + 6 degrees C and the metals levels reasonably low at 4.8 ppm wt nickel and 13.8 ppm wt vanadium.

We have based the information in this release on Buzzard assay data provided by CNOOC, the Buzzard Operator, from appraisal wells drilled some time ago. As updated Buzzard assay data may become available and when such data has been provided to INEOS, we will update the information in the release accordingly. Indications to date are that production from the Buzzard field is consistent with the original assay.

The table below shows a prediction of the proportion of Buzzard oil in Forties Blend over the following 4 months.

We have prepared this using the information provided by Field Operators which INEOS has not overviewed. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information but it does represent the best information made available to the FPS operator by Field Operators.

DATE BUZZARD FORTIES BLEND UNSTABILISED CRUDE OIL (THOUSANDS OF BARRELS PER DAY)
December 24 19.2% 219.6
January 25 20.6% 211.6
February 25 21.0% 203.4
March 25 20.0% 204.7

FPS will endeavour to update the above information on a monthly basis. Please note that the Forties Blend is now showing unstabilised crude oil mbpd instead of stabilised crude oil, as the Buzzard % was taken in relation to unstabilised SCO.

The following table can be used to estimate the approximate properties of the Forties Blend based on the content of Buzzard Crude:

Buzzard % vol API Sul (%wt)
0% 44 0.27%
5% 43.2 0.34%
10% 42.4 0.41%
15% 41.7 0.48%
20% 41 0.55%
25% 40.3 0.62%
30% 39.6 0.68%
35% 39 0.75%
40% 38.4 0.81%
45% 37.8 0.87%
50% 37.2 0.93%
55% 36.7 0.99%
60% 36.2 1.05%

 

The proportion of Buzzard oil entering the FPS System for 2024 is shown below:

QUARTER WEEK NO. DATE ACTUAL % BUZZARD
1Q 2024 1 1 January to 7 January 20%
  2 8 January to 14 January 19%
  3 15 January to 21 January 21%
  4 22 January to 28 January 21%
  5 29 January to 4 February 20%
  6 5 February to 11 February 19%
  7 12 February to 18 February 19%
  8 19 February to 25 February 21%
  9 26 February to 3 March 22%
  10 4 March to 10 March 20%
  11 11 March to 17 March 22%
  12 18 March to 24 March 27%
  13 25 March to 31 March 20%
2Q 2024 14 1 April to 7 April 20%
  15 8 April to 14 April 24%
  16 15 April to 21 April 22%
  17 22 April to 28 April 23%
  18 29 April to 5 May 22%
  19 6 May to 12 May 22%
  20 13 May to 19 May  14%
  21 20 May to 26 May 2%
  22 27 May to 2 June 0%
  23 3 June to 9 June 0%
  24 10 June to 16 June 6%
  25 17 June to 23 June 28%
  26 24 June to 30 June 27%
3Q 2024 27 1 July to 7 July  23%
  28 8 July to 14 July 9%
  29 15 July to 21 July 22%
  30 22 July to 28 July 25%
  31 29 July to 4 August 29%
  32 5 August to 11 August 21%
  33 12 August to 18 August 7%
  34 19 August to 25 August 31%
  35 26 August to 1 September 36%
  36 2 September to 8 September 29%
  37 9 September to 15 September 27%
  38 16 September to 22 September 27%
  39 23 September to 29 September 28%
4Q 2024 40 30 September to 6 October 20%
  41 7 October to 13 October 20%
  42 14 October to 20 October 18%
  43 21 October to 27 October 17%
  44 28 October to 3 November 16%
  45 4 November to 10 November 15%
  46 11 November to 17 November 15%
  47 18 November to 24 November 17%
  48 25 November to 1 December 20%

FPS will endeavour to update the above information on a weekly basis. To view previous quarters for 2010 to 2023 please use the links below:

Previous 2023 Quarters (PDF 110KB) Previous 2022 Quarters (PDF 130KB)previous 2021 quarters (PDF 99KB) Previous 2020 Quarters (PDF 102 KB) Previous 2019 Quarters (PDF 90 KB) Previous 2018 Quarters (PDF 86 KB) Previous 2017 Quarters (PDF 86 KB) Previous 2016 Quarters (PDF 133 KB) Previous 2015 Quarters (PDF 146 KB) Previous 2014 Quarters (PDF 69 KB) Previous 2013 Quarters (PDF 69 KB) Previous 2012 Quarters (PDF 77 KB) Previous 2011 Quarters (PDF 77 KB) Previous 2010 Quarters (PDF 76 KB)

Impact on Forties Blend crude oil quality during the 2024 summer field and FPS Maintenance season

During the Summer, operators of platforms in the North Sea often take the opportunity of the favourable weather period to perform routine maintenance on their equipment. This can result in individual fields reducing crude production or being taken off-line. 

The production rate from the Buzzard field is expected to vary this Summer, and a number of other fields are being taken off-line.  This will vary the percentage of Buzzard crude in the Blend and cause the Forties Blend sulphur and API gravity to fluctuate. The charts below show the projected API gravity and sulphur levels of Forties Blend for this maintenance period.

Sulphur levels of Forties Blend:Sulpur - Jan 2024.png

The API gravity:API - Jan 2024.png

 

This data is based on the forecast production rates and qualities for fields supplied by each FPS shipper to the FPS operator. As new forecasts are provided by FPS shippers, we will update the projected Forties Blend quality information.

As individual platforms come back online through May, August and September, we expect the Forties Blend quality to revert back to a steady quality of approximately 0.65% sulphur and an API of 41.0º.