Equinor shuts four offshore fields as Norwegian strike escalates

London — Equinor has closed four offshore oil and gas fields after a trade union stepped up its strike on the Norwegian continental shelf in a move that threatens to shut in up to 330,000 b/d of oil equivalent in oil and gas production.

A total of 54 members of the offshore managers' trade union Lederne working at the Gudrun, Gina Krog and Kvitebjorn fields escalated industrial action from midnight local time on Oct. 4 after mediation efforts ended without a result, Equinor said. It said the Valemon field is also being shut down because it is linked to Kvitebjorn.

Equinor did not estimate the oil and gas production volumes affected by the shutdowns but Norwegian Oil & Gas estimated on Oct. 2 that up to about 8%, or 330,000 b/d of oil equivalent, could be hit by the strike which began last week over pay and conditions.

Equinor said production at the Johan Sverdrup platform continues for the present despite 43 members of Lederne being on strike there since Sept. 30.

Norwegian Oil & Gas, which handles pay negotiations on behalf of oil and gas operators, has estimated that a total of six fields are at risk of shutdown for an unknown period due to the strike: Gjoa, operated by London-based Neptune Energy, Vega, operated by Germany's Wintershall Dea, and the four fields operated by Equinor.

Neptune and Wintershall Dea were not immediately available for comment on the status of their assets.

Oil is likely to account for over 40% of the affected production, based on historical data, with the strike likely impacting the Troll crude blend, which loads at Mongstad and is used in S&P Global Platts' Dated Brent price assessments, in particular. The Gjoa, Kvitebjorn, Valemon and Vega fields all contribute to the Troll crude stream.

Neptune last week confirmed the likely closure of Gjoa, noting the facility is particularly reliant on Lederne members, with 72 of the platform's personnel holding membership.

The dispute relates partly to changes in terms as some roles are switched from offshore facilities to onshore control centers, thanks to technological upgrades.

"The employer side still shows no willingness to meet our demands, and therefore the escalation is a fact," Lederne union leader Audun Ingvartsen said in a statement. "The strike came because we do not see the will to discuss an agreement for our members related to new forms of operation of the platforms."

Norway is Western Europe's largest oil and gas producer, with oil output of about 2 million b/d, or around two-thirds of oil produced in the North Sea region.