Trade and output hit by shutdown of North Sea Forties pipeline

THE SHUTDOWN of the North Sea Forties pipeline in December has taken its toll on the British economy, having hit both UK trade and industrial output at the end of 2017.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday showed the UK trade deficit widening by £3.8bn to £10.8bn in the three months to December 2017.

Goods trading was impacted by a 3.8 per cent – or £2.1bn – increase in imports from non-EU countries, as well as a drop in exports to the EU which have been worsening since hitting a recent peak in summer 2017. But the statistics agency said a drop in the UK’s oil exports – as well as large increases in the price of fuel imports – had the largest impact on the trade in goods deficit, which widened by £3.3bn, while the surplus in services narrowed over the period by £500m.

The UK’s oil industry was knocked by the temporary shuttering of the Forties pipeline over the bulk of December.

It came after a routine inspection found a hairline crack in the pipe just south of Aberdeen, prompting emergency repairs that stopped the flow of oil and gas from platforms feeding into the system.

The closure also weighed on production output, contributing to a 4.7 per cent drop in mining and quarrying, which partially offset a 1.3 per cent rise in manufacturing in the three months to December.

ONS senior statistician Ole Black said: “Manufacturing continued to grow strongly in the last three months of the year, with metal goods and pharmaceuticals driving growth. However, overall production growth slowed due to the shutdown of the cracked Forties pipeline.”