UPDATE 1-Occidental sees Elk Hills production resuming soon
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY.N) planned to resume production at its Elk Hills, California, oil and gas fields "within a few days," the independent oil and gas company said on Friday.
The company declared force majeure on oil and gas supplies from the field after a natural gas pipeline ruptured and burst into flames on Tuesday, injuring four people.
Occidental said about one-half acre of the 75-square-mile field was directly affected by the incident.
Elk Hills normally produces about 120,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, of which 60 percent is liquids. Occidental said on Thursday the field was producing at only 5 percent of normal levels.
A nearby 552-megawatt power plant, owned by Sempra Energy (SRE.N) and Occidental, was also shut down after the fire cut off its fuel supplies. The plant, which is fueled by gas from the field, was not damaged in the blaze.
Elk Hills is the largest oil field in California and supplies light oil by pipeline to refineries in both the north and south of the state, according to Occidental's Web site.
Crude oil prices rallied in late trading on Thursday amid speculation that the outage could crimp oil supplies ahead of peak oil demand in the summer.
