US Gulf oil pipeline outage forced BP to shut two fields

HOUSTON, June 16 (Reuters) - The shutdown of a junctionplatform on the Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS) inthe Gulf of Mexico forced BP Plc to shut crude outputfrom its Mad Dog and Atlantis oilfields early Tuesday, a personfamiliar with the operations said.

However, the platform was expected to restart later onTuesday, which will allow the fields to resume pumping, thesource said. It was unclear whether the shutdown was related toTropical Storm Bill, which came ashore further west along theTexas Coast on Tuesday.

Enterprise Products Partners operates the CHOPSsystem, which moves output ashore from Mad Dog and Atlantis, aswell as other fields operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Spokesmen for Enterprise and BP declined comment. (Reporting By Kristen Hays)