Norway Oil Workers Agree Wage Deal, Avert Strike
Wage talks between Norwegian oil firms and two labor unions ended in a deal on Wednesday, industry and union officials said, averting the risk of strike action later this year.The Lederne union as well as Industri Energi both came to an agreement with companies, industry group Offshore Norway said.A third union, Safe, will also be encompassed by the settlement, Offshore Norway said.Norway produces around 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, almost equally divided between oil and natural gas.The Nordic country became Europe's largest gas supplier after Russia cut its deliveries amid the war
Norway Oil Companies, Workers Agree Wage Deal in Principle, Avert Strike for Now
Norwegian oil firms and employees have agreed in principle a new wage deal, avoiding for now a strike at nine fields that could have hit the country's petroleum output, employers and unions said on Sunday.Two of the three unions that negotiated with oil firms will seek approval from their members before they formally approve the deal, the lobby representing employers and two union leaders told Reuters."Agreement. No strike. But Lederne and Safe (trade unions) send the results to a referendum (of) their members," a spokesman for the Norwegian oil and gas lobby said."They will have to
Coronavirus, Consolidation Taking Toll On Energy Jobs
unemployment to about 8%.U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said it is unlikely to return to the peak, near 13 million barrels per day, reached in 2019, largely through the use of fracking technology used by shale companies. The shale industry has been hit hard by the pandemic because it is easy for oil firms to cut staff and spending in the sector.Fracking has become a hot-button issue in the U.S. presidential campaign. Democratic challenger Joe Biden wants to limit fracking on federal lands, while incumbent President Donald Trump has pushed for more drilling, and argues Biden's position would
Hundreds of Norway Oil Workers Go On Strike
;s Statistical Review published in June.Natural gas production was 123 billion cubic metres last year, BP reported, making Norway the world's seventh biggest producer and Europe's largest gas supplier after Russia.Safe said workers on rigs that conduct exploration or production drilling for oil firms would also walk out on Tuesday.That includes 117 workers from the Transocean Spitsbergen rig; 80 from the Songa Offshore Enabler; 71 from Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Stavanger; and 60 from North Atlantic Drilling's West Elara rig.Others set to join the action include 40 Archer drilling workers
Oil Producer Norway Starts Wage Talks to Avert Widespread Strikes
to force an end to the conflict, citing vital national interests. Top companies that could be affected by the talks include consumer goods maker Orkla, fertiliser maker Yara , metals producer Hydro and oil services companies Aker Solutions and Kvaerner. Also at risk are major oil firms including Statoil, Aker BP, Lundin Petroleum and Shell. (Editing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Louise Heavens)
Shell Nabs Sinochem Crude Trader for Singapore Desk
London office to help bolster its crude oil trading into the Chinese market, sources told Reuters. Zheng Qingpu, who worked as the deputy general manager for Sinochem in London, has joined the Shell crude oil trading desk in Singapore, the sources said. Major trading houses and independent oil firms are chasing qualified and well-connected staff for their Asia trading desks, spurred on by the opening up of China's oil imports to include independent refineries. Shell declined to comment on staff moves. Qingpu, who managed West African trading for Sinochem, did not immediately respond to
Most Norwegian Oil Workers Agree to Wage Deal
accepted it as they did not have the right to go on strike this year due to a clause in last year's agreement. Lederne, a third union representing some 13 percent of Norwegian oil and gas workers or about 1,000 people, does have the right to go on strike, and said it had rejected the oil firms' offer. Under Norwegian law, the talks involving Lederne will now proceed to a state mediator, which must be conducted before any strike is allowed. Norway is western Europe's top oil and gas producer with daily output in April of around 2.1 million barrels of oil, condensate
Norway's Oil Wage Talks to Start June 30 in Bid to Avert Strike
Norwegian oil firms and their employees will begin a final round of wage negotiations on June 30 in a bid to avoid a strike that would limit the output of oil and gas from western Europe's top producer, the Industri Energi labour union said on Wednesday. The deadline for reaching a compromise has been set to July 1, Industri Energi leader Leif Sande said. If no deal is struck, shutdowns could begin the following day. In 2012, a 16-day strike among some of Norway's oil workers cut the country's output of crude by about 13 percent and its natural gas production by about four percent.
Workers at Ivory Coast's Petroci Launch 72-hour Strike
Employees at Ivory Coast's state oil company Petroci began a 72-hour strike on Tuesday to protest a wave of recent layoffs as union leaders threatened to broaden the walkout to other oil firms if the workers' demands were not met. "Our employer violated all the rules and refuses to agree to the workers' demands. We have in front of us an employer that doesn't respect anything," said Jeremie N'Guessan Wondje, a Petroci employee and secretary general of the SYNTEPCI union. (Reporting by Ange Aboa)
Shell to Lay Off Staff, Contractors in Norway
reduce its contractor force by 140 from 350, as low oil prices force it to cut costs, it said on Thursday. Shell said 100 of the staff cuts would be at its headquarters in Stavanger on Norway's west coast while 20 jobs would be eliminated at its operations department in Kristiansand. Oil firms in Norway are expected to cut investments by around 15 percent this year, the industry's lobby group predicted earlier. Spending could fall further in 2016 as energy firms hold back future developments after crude prices halved. "Shell's Norwegian producing fields are facing declining
Oil Majors Cut Staff in Iraq on Violence Fears
percent of the country's oil are completely safe from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which has seized much of the north in a week as Baghdad's forces there collapsed. The government says 100,000 police dedicated to protecting oil facilities are on high alert and well armed. But oil firms are taking no chances with the foreign expert staff who could be prime targets for jihadists. And some importers of Iraqi oil are getting nervous about supplies. "We are just very vigilant in Iraq. Non-essential production people have left, but operations continue," said Bob Dudley
Norway's Oil Service Workers Begin Wage Talks
go to a government mediator before possible labor action. Platform workers staged a 16-day strike two years ago, cutting oil production by 13 percent before the government intervened to impose a deal and end the strike. But service workers at the time struck an agreement and did not stop work. Oil firms have sharply reduced spending plans this year, arguing that the sector has lost much of its competitiveness due to a decade worth of rapid wage growth and unions now needed to exercise self restraint. "If the sides can not reach agreement through negotiation, the dispute goes to mediation
Offshore O&G: Cuts, Delays in Norway as Costs Soar
that have been delayed or called off, Bente Nyland, the head of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Thursday. Most vulnerable will be small fields, projects to increase the recovery from producing assets, and new finds further than 40 km from existing infrastructure, Nyland told Reuters. Oil firms are cutting back on capital spending across the world as years of cost inflation has squeezed margins, cutting back their ability to pay dividends. Norway, where the per unit cost has increased 10-fold in 10 years has already fallen victim to cuts. Statoil earlier this year sharply reduced its
