Buzzard oil back fully after pumping less over Christmas

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The North Sea's Buzzard oilfield pumped at reduced rates for a few days during the Christmas break, an industry source said on Monday, lowering supply of the crude which help sets the Brent oil benchmark.

The reason for the output reduction at the 200,000-barrel-per-day field was not immediately clear and nor was the scale of the cutback. Nexen (KSE: 005720.KS - news) , its operator, could not immediately be reached for comment.

"Rates were reduced for a couple of days over the break, but it is back to full rates today," the source said, declining to be identified.

Buzzard is the largest field feeding the North Sea Forties pipeline, which transports the oil underpinning the Brent oil benchmark, making it one of the world's most important oilfields in terms of its impact on prices.

The field, long known in the industry for frequent breakdowns, had been pumping almost non-stop since August, according to industry sources. The period of stable output had added to downward pressure on Brent prices.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler; editing by William Hardy)