Norwegian industry averts damaging offshore oil strike

Norwegian Oil & Gas ends talks with two offshore oil unions, striking a wage deal with one union, while the other considers the oil industry’s offer until June 27.

Wage deal

 After negotiations with two Norwegian oil unions, Norway oil industry representatives struck a wage deal, Upstream writes, with offshore workers at one union—averting a strike at GDF Suez, Suez SA, and ExxonMobile platforms—though the second union may still go on strike at a later date. 

Strike 

The unions threatened to put hundreds of workers on strike, shutting down several oil platforms that would cut the country’s oil production by an estimated 100,000 barrels per day and gas production by 15 million cubic meters, according to Reuters.

Sixth largest

As the world’s sixth largest oil exporter and Western Europe’s top oil and gas producer, a reduction of Norwegian oil output could compound global oil supply concerns.  A 16-day strike of Norwegian oil workers in 2012 drove oil prices to over $100 a barrel, and while the scope of this year’s strike is smaller, it may still have measurable effects on supply.   

 Pension rights

Talks, which centered on pension rights for 3,500 offshore oil workers, stretched past their Tuesday deadline into early Wednesday morning. The Norwegian Organization of Managers and Executives, known as the Lederne union, agreed to a deal with Norwegian Oil & Gas (Norog), while the Safe union will consider the industry’s offer until June 27.

Further negitiations

If Safe refuses to sign the deal, it plans to put 154 workers on strike, affecting production from ExxonMobile’s Jotun, Righorne and Blader fields in the North Sea, which, according to Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, produce about 64,000 barrels of oil a day.

Onshore oil worker unions are expected to hold further negotiation talks with Norog on June 19.