Norway averts offshore oil strike with last-minute pay deal
Unions and oil companies agreed an improved wage package, heading off industrial action that could have cut output by about 45,500 boe per day
Norway has avoided a strike at offshore oil platforms after trade unions and oil companies agreed on an improved wage package.
Had workers walked out, Norwegian oil and gas output could have fallen by about 45,500 boe per day. The three unions - Safe, Styrke and Lederne - have around 8,100 members involved in oil production, of whom more than 600 would have joined an initial wave of strikes if talks had broken down, with the option to escalate over time.
A last-minute agreement with the unions averted the action through an offshore pay settlement covering all members.
Elisabeth Brattebø Fenne, director of industrial relations and chief negotiator for Offshore Norge, said the negotiations were demanding but that she was pleased a deal had been reached and a strike avoided.
The agreement provides a general annual pay increase of $4,500, along with offshore compensation and a holiday allowance, and includes higher shift and night supplements.
Norway produces more than 4m barrels of oil equivalent per day, split almost evenly between oil and gas at around 2m boepd each. It ships crude as far as Asia, which has been squeezed by reduced Middle Eastern supply, and has been Europe's largest gas supplier since 2022, following the start of the war in Ukraine.
