OSLO, July 5 (Reuters) – Norwegian offshore workers went on strike on Tuesday to reduce oil and gas production, the union leading industrial action told Reuters.
The strike, in which workers are calling for wage increases to offset rising inflation, comes amid high oil and gas prices, with natural gas supplies to Europe especially tight following cuts in Russian exports.
“The strike has begun,” Auded Ingvartsen, leader of the Lederne union, said in an interview.
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Operator Equinor (EQNR.OL) has begun stopping three fields in the North Sea as a result of a strike, the company said on Tuesday. Read more
The Norwegian Ministry of Labor reiterated that it was following the conflict “closely”. It can intervene to stop a strike if there are exceptional circumstances.
On Tuesday, oil and gas production will fall by 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), of which gas production is 27,500 boepd, Equinor reiterated on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the strike will deepen the cut in the country’s gas production to a total of 292,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 13% of production, NOG said Sunday, in line with Equinor’s estimate. Read more
Oil production as of Wednesday will drop by 130,000 barrels per day, Equinor said, in line with the lobby’s previous estimate.
This accounts for around 6.5% of Norwegian production, according to a Reuters estimate.
A new climb planned for Saturday could close about a quarter of Norway’s gas production, as well as about 15% of its oil production, according to a Reuters estimate.
“The consequences of this escalation are not yet clear,” Equinor said.
Ultimately, it is the decision of the operator -Equinor- to close the exit.
CLIMBING IN THREE STEPS
Industrial action began at midnight local time (2200 GMT) at three camps – Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East – and will be extended to three other camps – Kristin, Heidrun and Aasta Hansteen – starting at midnight on Wednesday.
A seventh camp, Tyrihans, will also have to close on Wednesday because his departure is being processed from Kristin.
On July 9, Sleipner, Gullfaks A, and Gullfaks C would likely stop producing, as Lederne members are considered crucial to operations, with possible ripple effects in other fields pumping their product through these fields.
If they did, it could reduce crude oil and other petroleum liquids production by another 160,000 boepd and natural gas production by about 230,000 boepd, according to a Reuters estimate.
Lederne union members on Thursday voted against a proposed wage agreement that had been negotiated by companies and union leaders. Read more
The other oil and gas unions in Norway have accepted the wage deal and will not go on strike.
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Additional report by Victoria Klesty, edited by Kim Coghill and Jason Neely
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