Repairs to the Finnart oil pipeline, which supplies Scotland's only refinery, are expected to take longer than initially anticipated and extend into April.

Initially, the pipeline was originally expected to be back online in March operating at its normal capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.

The leak, discovered in early February, necessitated repairs that have disrupted the flow of crude oil to the Grangemouth refinery owned and operated by Petroineos, a joint venture between PetroChina and Ineos.

Following the leak, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been working with Petroineos to ensure proper remediation of the leak site.

"Our focus is to ensure appropriate remediation of the site," a SEPA spokesperson said.

While repairs are ongoing, the Grangemouth refinery is also undergoing scheduled maintenance, further limiting its capacity to receive crude oil critical for supplying road and jet fuels to Scotland's most populous region and airports.

The extended pipeline outage could have wider implications for the global oil market, with the disruption of North Sea crude flows impacting the dated Brent price benchmark, which is set based on the North Sea market.

Despite the lack of crude from the Finnart pipeline, the Grangemouth refinery continues to receive oil from the Forties Pipeline System. However, the increased demand has pushed Forties differentials to a three-month high.