OREANDA-NEWS. Loadings of the North Sea's key benchmark grades in August will be unchanged from July, as a fuller programmes for Brent and Ekofisk crudes offsets a slowdown in loadings of both Oseberg and Forties.

Combined loadings of the four crude grades underpinning the North Sea Dated benchmark in August will average 910,000 b/d, unchanged from July's average, but 2pc higher than the average for the first half of the year.

Loadings of Forties crude will slow to 348,000 b/d in August, with just 18 loadings scheduled. This marks a drop of 14pc from both July's schedule and from the first-half average, as a number of fields on the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) undergo maintenance. A slowdown in Forties loadings was already expected after FPS operator BP forecast a 16pc fall in Forties production in August, as fields other than Buzzard undergo maintenance. BP expects production to rebound strongly again in September, although a week of Buzzard maintenance will again restrict output in October.

August's Forties loadings will be at their weakest since September last year — when loadings were also slowed by maintenance work. Loadings of Oseberg crude meanwhile will drop by 25pc from July's highs although they will be in line with the first half average.

Loadings of both Ekofisk and Brent crude are set to climb to a 12-month high. A total of 16 cargoes of Ekofisk crude have been scheduled for August, at a rate of 310,000 b/d, up from 271,000 b/d in July. Seven cargoes of Brent crude have been scheduled to load in August at a rate of 135,500 b/d, up from just four cargoes in July, at a rate of 77,500 b/d. Brent loadings will be 27pc higher than the average for the first half of the year, while Ekofisk loadings will be up 12pc from the first half.