Norwegian oil workers and employers reach agreement, strike ends

By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos

OSLO (Reuters) – Workers on Norwegian oil rigs will end their industrial action after the union representing 1,600 striking employees reached an agreement with the group representing their employers, the parties said on Thursday.

The strike began on July 10 after the union Safe and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association failed to reach agreement on wages and pension conditions. The industrial action led to the closure of an oil field operated by Shell.

“The strike is over… All workers will return to their jobs today,” Safe union negotiator told Reuters.

The measure had only a limited impact on production in Norway, the largest oil producer in Western Europe, which produces about two million barrels a day, or about one percent of Norwegian production. Nevertheless, it temporarily helped to boost Brent crude prices remained stable.

A mediator appointed by the state had already spoken to the parties on Thursday to try to resolve the conflict.

“A solution has been found through the mediator appointed by the state … and therefore the strike must end immediately,” the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said in a statement.

The strike led to the closure of the Knarr field, which had a daily production of 23,900 barrels of mainly oil, but also liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas.

The field is operated by Royal Dutch Shell together with its partners Idemitsu from Japan <5019.T>Wintershall and DEA.

The other facilities affected by the strike were production drilling or exploration rigs rather than supply vessels, rather than production platforms.

(Edited by Keith Weir and Edmund Blair)