Norwegian energy firm Equnior has initiated the shutdown of three oilfields in the North Sea as a result of a strike among offshore workers.
The shutdown of the Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East fields comes after the Norwegian Organisation of Manager and Executives (Lederne) trade union went on strike from midnight.
It follows Lederne members voting against the mediator’s proposal during the wage negotiations for offshore personnel between the labour organisations and the employers’ organisation, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (Norog).
Production from the three fields totals around 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, out of which 27,500 boe per day is natural gas.
A further extension of the strike has been notified for the Heidrun, Kristin and Aasta Hansteen fields, which will take effect from tonight.
That will also result in a controlled shutdown of production from the fields, including the Tyrihans field, which is connected to the Kristin platform.
Total production from all the fields is around 333,000 boe per day, with natural gas accounting for 264,000 boe per day.
Equinor added: “A further escalation has been announced from 9 July at Sleipner, Gullfaks A and Gullfaks C.
“Consequences of this escalation is not yet clear.”
