Norway Services Strike Affects Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton
More than 300 oil service employees, all Industri Energi union members, went on strike Wednesday after wage talks broke down with the Norwegian Oil Industry Association.
“We strike because the Norwegian Oil Industry Association did not show any willingness to meet us at our moderate demands,” said Industri Energi’s local leader Ommund Stokka.
As a result of the strike, Norwegian oil service employees from Schlumberger Norway, Baker Hughes Norway, Halliburton Norway, Oceaneering and Oceaneering Asset Integrity have staged a walk-out.
The environmental management of drilling waste will be stopped during the strike, as will drilling operations offshore to prevent discharge into the sea. Industri Energi also stated that it will remove computer engineers who work with well monitoring and people that control unmanned underwater vehicles.
In a warning to the Norwegian Oil Industry Association, Industri Energi’s union secretary Einar Johannessen stated that an escalation of the strike can be implemented if necessary.
Mediation between the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association and Industry Energi took place Tuesday with a deadline of midnight to reach a deal.
“Supplier companies have been particularly hard-hit by the decline in activity on the Norwegian continential shelf,” said Jan Hodneland, lead negotiator at Norwegian Oil and Gas.
“Many of them have been through a substantial restructuring in recent years. That’s involved big cost cuts and constant downsizing. These companies can’t cope with further growth in their costs. That would make the position worse both for them and for the people they employ,” he added.
Hodneland stated late Tuesday that a cautious pay settlement would help to improve the competitive terms for Norway’s supplier companies, and that both employers and unions must contribute to preserving as many jobs as possible.
Commenting on the effect of the strike, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said that the walkouts could call a halt to some drilling operations, but would not immediately affect oil and gas production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Norway currently produces around two million barrels of oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) per day. The country’s output of natural gas currently stands at around 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalents.
Reuters contributed to this article
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