NORTH Sea oil output looks set to slump next month as major fields in British and Norwegian waters close for maintenance, the Scotsman newspaper has reported.

Nexen plans to close its Buzzard field for maintenance in September so supply from the UK's Forties area will drop.

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The Forties area is the largest production stream in the North Sea.

A drop in production would make the UK's hoped-for GDP recovery in the third quarter harder to achieve.

Norway's Statoil has also scheduled September work at some of its offshore fields, which will push the company's Troil crude oil stream down to less than half its usual operation level.

The expected reduction in supply has hiked the price of Brent crude.

(NE)