More than 900 Norway oil drilling workers may strike from June 29 (updated)

Archer

12/06/2023 15:36

(Adds strike plans and background in paragraphs 2-5)
       OSLO, June 12 (Reuters) - Some 913 workers on Norwegian
offshore oil and gas drilling rigs and other installations will
go on a strike unless a wage deal is found by a June 29
deadline, the Industri Energi labour union said in a statement
on Monday.
    Strike action by drilling workers does not normally affect
the output of oil and gas in the short run but could have a
greater impact in the longer term as expansion projects and the
start-up of new fields could be delayed.
        Workers that may strike work on 12 rigs, including
Seadrill's  SDRL.OL  West Elara rig, Odfjell's  ODLO.OL 
Nordkapp, Transocean's Spitsbergen  RIGN.S  and as contractors
at Equinor's  EQNR.OL  Gullfaks field, Industri Energi says.
  
        Talks between the Norwegian Shipowners' Association
(NSA) and the Safe, Industri Energi and DSO labour unions
involving 6,000-7,500 drilling workers 
    broke down
     on May 24, and a state-appointed mediator will seek to
avert the outbreak of a strike.
  
        Safe and DSO have not yet announced how many of their
members would join a potential first wave of strikes.
  
        Norwegian petroleum production workers, who are directly
employed by companies such as Equinor and Conoco Phillips,
reached a wage agreement last month, preventing strikes at major
oil and gas fields.
  

 (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Louise Rasmussen and
Nerijus Adomaitis)
 ((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70))