Norway mediation effort underway to avert threatened strike escalation

New York — Mediation talks were underway Oct. 9 aimed at averting an escalation of a Norwegian offshore managers' strike that threatens to slash the country's oil and gas production by a quarter, or nearly 1 million b/d of oil equivalent, the two sides in the dispute said.

The talks were confirmed by both the Lederne, or "leaders," union and by industry group Norwegian Oil & Gas, which represents the industry in pay negotiations.

The dispute has already caused an estimated cut in Norway's production of 330,000 b/d of oil equivalent, almost of half of which is likely to be oil, mainly from small or medium-sized fields with oil output of under 40,000 b/d.

The union, however, has warned it will add more fields starting Oct. 11, while state-controlled Equinor says it will be unable to maintain production from its flagship Johan Sverdrup field if the strike continues into Oct. 14, due to a lack of critical workers. Production from Johan Svedrup, which came on stream a year earlier, reached 480,000 b/d in July.

The strike centers on pay, but also an industry effort to remove some functions from offshore platforms to onshore control rooms, because of technological change. Lederne is seeking a collective pay agreement for workers affected by the change.