Workers strike on four offshore drilling rigs

The Associated Press

A week after Norway’s government ordered an end to an earlier strike by oil field workers, 175 more walked off their jobs July 2 after results by state-led mediation for higher salaries failed.

The walkout by the workers on four offshore rigs wasn’t expected to effect Norway’s daily production of 3 million barrels of oil because the crews drill for oil and don’t produce it.

The Federation of Norwegian Oil Workers called the July 2 strike after contract talks with the Norwegian Shipowner’s Association broke down. It comes just one week after the government ordered an end to an earlier strike by 207 members of the same union on offshore platforms because it threatened to shut down oil and natural gas production in Norway — the world’s third largest oil exporter.

A union statement said the conflict was mainly over its demand for job security for members. The employers said the union also demanded that current contracts cover workers on platforms temporarily in Norway for repairs.

The government has the power to order the strikers back to work, but that was unlikely since the walkout did not threaten daily production.

The Shipowner’s Association said the offshore rig industry could not afford to meet the union’s demands. High wage levels already mean that it costs 250,000 kroner (US$35,700) more per day in personnel costs to operate a rig in Norwegian waters than in the British sector of the North Sea, it said.

A statement said the workers earn an average of 485,000 kroner (US$69,000) a year, working two-week shifts, followed by four weeks off.

The four rigs — Polar Pioneer, Transocean Leader, Transocean Searcher and Transocean Arctic — are all owned by Houston-based Transocean Inc. The company said it could take up to 10 days to stop operations on the rigs if that is needed, because of the safety measures imposed in shutting down drilling operations.