Nexen temporarily shuts North Sea production

MONTREAL, April 27 (Reuters) - Nexen Inc (NXY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (NXY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Sunday it had temporarily stopped production from its Buzzard, Scott/Telford and Farragon fields in the North Sea because of key pipeline shutdown stemming from a strike at the Ineos Grangemouth refinery in Scotland.

The Canadian oil explorer said timing of a restart of its North Sea operations will depend on the condition of various onshore and offshore systems after the shutdown.

BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) had said earlier that a pipeline carrying nearly half of Britain's oil was closed on Sunday as the two-day strike over pensions began at the Grangemouth refinery.

The refinery, owned by international chemical company Ineos, produces a tenth of Britain's petrol and diesel but also supplies vital steam to BP's Kinneil plant that starts to process the crude oil coming ashore from 70 North Sea fields.

The strike is the first to close a British refinery in more than 70 years.

(Reporting by Robert Melnbardis; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)