- The strike will gradually increase during the week
- Climbing is a way of telling employers to listen: union
- Gas production could drop nearly 25% on Saturday
- The government may intervene in special circumstances
OSLO, July 5 (Reuters) – Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers went on strike on Tuesday, the first day of planned industrial action that could reduce the country’s gas production by almost a quarter. aggravate the shortage of supply as a result of Ukrainian war.
About 15% of Norway’s oil production could also fall on Saturday, according to a Reuters calculation based on union members ’plans to gradually increase their action over the next few days. Read more
Norway’s oil and gas, Europe’s second-largest energy supplier after Russia, is in high demand, as the country is considered a reliable and predictable supplier, especially with Russia’s Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. will be closed from July 11 for 10 days.
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The price of British wholesale gas for daily delivery rose by almost 16%, although the price of Brent crude fell as fears of a global recession outweighed fears of a breakdown in oil prices. supply, including the strike in Norway.
“The strike has begun,” Audun Ingvartsen, leader of the Lederne union, said in an interview, adding that the union would intensify the strike to pressure employers to address demands for wage increases to offset rising inflation.
CLIMBING IN THREE STEPS
The Norwegian Ministry of Labor reiterated that it was following the dispute closely. The government can intervene to stop any strike in exceptional circumstances.
Union leader Ingvartsen said the escalation was not designed to pressure the government to intervene and impose an agreement, adding that he was not in contact with the government, he said.
“Our goal is for employers to engage with us and listen to their employees,” he said.
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, said Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor (EQNR.OL).
On Wednesday, the strike will increase gas cuts to a total of 292,000 boepd, or 13 percent of production, Equinor and the Norwegian Oil and Gas (NOG) employers’ association said. Read more
Oil production will drop by 130,000 barrels a day starting Wednesday, they said. This corresponds to approximately 6.5% of Norway’s oil production, according to a Reuters calculation.
A new climb planned for Saturday could leave offline nearly a quarter of Norway’s gas production, as well as about 15% of its oil production, according to a Reuters estimate.
NOG has not yet fully analyzed the consequences of the climb planned for Saturday, a spokesman for the pressure group said on Tuesday, adding that it was possible that more fields could be affected.
“The consequences of this escalation are not yet clear,” Equinor said.
Lederne represents high-level offshore workers considered critical for operations and industrial action in one field can have a domino effect in others pumping oil and gas through the affected field.
MORE FIELDS AT RISK
Industrial action began at midnight local time (2200 GMT) at three camps – Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East – and will be extended to three more – Kristin, Heidrun and Aasta Hansteen – starting at midnight on Wednesday.
A seventh camp, Tyrihans, will also have to close on Wednesday for her exit to be prosecuted by Kristin.
On July 9, the Sleipner, Gullfaks A and Gullfaks C fields are also expected to cease production due to the strike action at other fields through which they pump oil and gas.
If they closed too, it could reduce production of crude oil and other petroleum liquids from Norway 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; Editing by Kim Coghill, Jason Neely and David Clarke
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