Fresh UK Oil and Gas Strike Action Takes Place Today

The Unite union has confirmed to Rigzone that several oil and gas related strikes will take place on Wednesday.

Unite Regional Officer John Boland outlined that around 100 of the union’s members working for Wood on TAQA assets will take strike action on May 10 and 11. These members were made an offer last week that was put to a consultative ballot, although members rejected that offer, Boland revealed.

The Unite representative also highlighted that approximately 50 of the union’s members working for Petrofac on the Ithaca asset FPF1 will be taking strike action on May 10 and 12, after starting an overtime ban on May 8.

Boland also revealed that approximately all of Stork’s 650 offshore members will be undertaking a 48-hour strike from 6.30am on May 10 to 6.29am on May 12. Sparrows’ approximately 200 offshore members will take part in identical strike action, according to Boland, who pointed out that the Sparrows strike excludes the union’s members on the Andrew, Etap, Clair, Clair Ridge, Glen Lyon and Mungo BP units and the Heather, Magnus and Thistle EnQuest units, “all of who have accepted separate offers”.

When Rigzone contacted industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) for comment on the strike action, Irene Bruce, OEUK’s Energy Services Agreement Manager, said, “we are aware of this upcoming industrial action and would encourage all parties to work together to find constructive ways to address workforce concerns”.

“Workers in all sectors across the UK are feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, however industrial action does not offer a solution, nor is it helpful for our sector, which is doing all it can to attract the investment essential to protect jobs and meet the UK’s energy needs,” Bruce added.

“While some offshore staffing levels will be reduced, companies are focused on maintaining safe operations for our people and on ensuring continuity of production to maintain energy security for the UK,” the OEUK representative told Rigzone.

On April 21, Unite confirmed that 1,300 offshore workers would begin a 48-hour stoppage from April 24, which it warned “will cause ‘severe’ problems for major oil and gas operators”. In a statement posted on its site, Unite said the 48-hour strike action will hit “multibillion oil and gas operators including BP, CNRI, EnQuest, Harbour, Ithaca, Shell, TAQA and Total”.

Commenting on that strike action, Bruce told Rigzone last month that the organization was “aware of this industrial action and would encourage all parties to work together to find constructive ways to address workforce concerns”.

In OEUK’s latest workforce insight report, which was released near the end of last year, the organization projected that the offshore oil and gas sector would support 213,600 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in 2022. This figure stood at 200,800 in 2021, 178,500 in 2020, and 260,900 in 2019, OEUK’s report showed.

A breakdown of the total direct, indirect, and induced jobs for 2019-2022, as shown in the report, can be seen below:

• 2022 – Direct (30,300), Indirect (99,700), Induced (83,600)
• 2021 – Direct (28,400), Indirect (93,900), Induced (78,500)
• 2020 – Direct (25,800), Indirect (91,700), Induced (61,000)
• 2019 – Direct (30,300), Indirect (121,900), Induced (108,700)

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com