Lightning Strike Disrupts Key Oil Pipeline

The main UK North Sea crude oil transport route, the Forties pipeline, was shut down in the early hours on Friday after a lightning strike caused a power surge, the operator of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS), Ineos, said. A lightning strike in the Cruden Bay area caused the power surge, which resulted in a loss of power to Cruden Bay. Following standard safety precautions, the Forties pipeline was fully shut down, the operator said. Thunderstorms in northeast Scotland were the reasons for the lightning in the Cruden Bay area. “We are now…