While declaring force majeure over contracts for the Forties pipeline system in the North Sea, operator Ineos said a crack triggering the shutdown is stable. The operator said Thursday its engineers and technicians are examining a hairline crack discovered on an inland section of the pipeline last week south of Aberdeen. “Continued assessment of the pipeline since Monday has confirmed that the hairline crack has stabilized and no further growth has been recorded for 48 hours,” the company said in a statement. The system, which Ineos acquired from British energy company BP in April, carries about 40 percent of the oil produced in the British waters of the North Sea, or about 450,000 barrels of oil per day. Ineos confirmed a […]