Norwegian Oil Workers Strike Set to Escalate

By Dominic Chopping

A strike by Norwegian oil-and-gas workers is set to escalate further over the coming weekend amid a continuing impasse in wage talks, union officials said late Tuesday.

Wage talks between the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association and trade union Lederne broke down late last Tuesday and led to 54 workers going on strike from midnight on Sunday.

As a result, the Gudrun, Gina Krog, Kvitebjorn, Valemon, Gjoa and Vega fields were shut down and Lederne said a further 93 of its members will now strike from midnight on Oct. 10, affecting the Oseberg Sor, Oseberg Ost, Kristin and Ekofisk Bravo/Kilo platforms.

"The employer side still shows no willingness to meet our demands, and therefore we announce another escalation," said Lederne union leader Audun Ingvartsen.

In total, the six fields already shut down produce 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, compared with total production of oil-and-gas on the Norwegian shelf of about 4 million barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2020 04:33 ET (08:33 GMT)

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