Norway Oil and Gas Workers Threaten Strike

Nerijus Adomaitis and Nora Buli
Friday, June 3, 2022

At least 647 Norwegian oil workers plan to strike from June 12 if state-brokered wage mediation fails, labour unions said on Friday, putting some crude output at risk of shutdown although gas may not be affected.

Workers are seeking above-inflation pay increases and other changes to their contracts but have not released details of their demands.

Members of the Industri Energi and Lederne unions plan strike action at 10 permanent offshore installations, including the Njord A, Valhall, Gudrun and several Oseberg platforms, as well as three mobile service units, the unions said.

Lederne would initially involve 74 mostly senior offshore workers in a strike, likely hitting oil production at the Equinor-operated Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East platforms, the union said.

Gas production should remain unaffected however, Lederne chief Audun Ingvartsen told Reuters.

"We will try to avoid affecting gas production as we are mindful about the situation with gas supplies in Europe," he said.

"I hope we can find the best solution both for Norway and the oil companies, and at the same time give something back to the workers. I hope we can avoid a strike."

Lederne is negotiating on behalf of some 1,300 union members.

Equinor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gudrun produced 45,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in 2021, Oseberg East 5,600 boed and Oseberg South 32,000 boed, official data shows, around two percent of Norway's overall daily oil and gas output.

The Industri Energi union meanwhile said it would initially seek to avoid hitting production altogether, even as 573 of its members could go on strike.

"The first instance of a potential strike would only involve a limited number of members, but we can escalate if necessary," Industri Energi's chief negotiator Lill-Heidi Bakkerud said.

Industri Energi is Norway's biggest oil and gas union, negotiating on behalf of some 4,300 members.

The Safe labor union, which will also take part in the June 10-11 mediation, has yet to outline its response.

(Additional reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan)

Categories: People & Company News Energy Industry News Activity Europe Production

Related Stories

Deep C Delivers Lifting Tool for North Sea Decommissioning Project

TGS Nets First 3D Streamer Job for 2025 Summer Season

Analysts: Trump Hardening Iran Policy Might Not Stem Flow to China

Current News

Cargotec to sell MacGregor to Triton for Over $500M

Terradepth Launches Cloud-Based Ocean Mapping Tool for Offshore Energy Firms

Masdar, SOCAR and ACWA Set Sights on 3.5GW Offshore Wind Projects in Azerbaijan

Trump Pick Likely to Ratchet Up GoM Leasing

Subscribe for OE Digital E‑News