Norwegian offshore unions in last-ditch talks to avert wider strike
State-mediated wage talks aim to stop a walkout spreading across rigs and platforms as a separate service strike already bites
Norwegian unions representing offshore drilling rig and floating platform workers have begun state-mediated wage talks in an effort to head off a wider strike in the country's oil and gas sector. The unions Styrke, SAFE and DSO say more than 600 members could be first to walk out if no deal is reached, and warn the action could escalate. The wage agreement under discussion covers about 7,500 workers in total.
Any initial stoppage would hit the Transocean Encourage rig, Odfjell Technology's Linus rig, the AKOFS Seafarer well intervention vessel and Equinor's Gullfaks B platform. The talks come with a separate offshore labour dispute already under way, adding pressure on employers and the authorities to avoid further losses.
Direct oil company workers were removed from the dispute earlier this month after a wage deal on 5 June avoided production stoppages, but employees of oil service firms went on strike on 15 June when talks with Offshore Norge broke down. That strike initially hit ten service providers, including SLB, DOF, Halliburton, Weatherford, DeepOcean, Subsea 7 and Baker Hughes, and has since widened, with Offshore Norge extending the stoppage notice to cover more than 1,200 SAFE members under the well service agreement.
Offshore Norge, which represents service employers, has warned the dispute could weigh more heavily on production in the coming days, estimating output losses from the service strike could reach about 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day this week and potentially climb above 120,000 boepd after mid-July if it continues. Losses have already begun, with Aker BP shutting the Tambar field in the North Sea, which produced about 7,000 boepd in 2025.
