Oil strike may lead Equinor to close Johan Sverdrup field – E24

This is stated in a message from Equinor on Wednesday night.

The oil strike began on September 30 when 43 members of Johan Sverdrup went on strike.

On Monday, another 126 went on strike, affecting the Equinor Gudrun, Gina Krog, Kvitebjørn and Valemon fields, as well as the Gjøa field, which is operated by Neptune Energy.

On Tuesday, the Leaders also announced that they would continue to escalate the strike.

This will affect the Oseberg Sør, Oseberg Øst, Kristin, Ekofisk and Bravo platforms, which are operated by Equinor and Conoco Philips.

Information manager Kolbjørn Andreassen at Norwegian Oil and Gas says the strike will have major consequences for the industry.

– Especially now that the industry is in a demanding situation. The strike has already generated significant deferred income. That’s about 350 million kronor a week, he tells NRK.

So far, the leaders’ strike has caused the closure of six fields on the Norwegian shelf, with a total production of around 330,000 barrels per day.

If Johan Sverdrup, with its capacity of up to 470,000 barrels per day, were also shut down, the strike would have significantly reduced Norway’s total oil production.

In recent years, total production has been around four million barrels per day, including oil, gas and condensates.

According to an announcement on the AkerBP stock exchange, they hope to find a solution that can prevent the closure of the Johan Sverdrup field.

He believes that Equinor has not played by the rules of the game.

Union leader in Lederne, Johan Ingvartsen, says in a press release that they believe Equinor has not played by the rules of the game in working life in conflict, by reassigning staff to continue operations on the Johan Sverdrup platform.

– This also creates a higher risk of unwanted incidents, Ingvartsen says in the report.

In addition, it says that the union demanded collective agreement coverage for its members who, after adjustments and new technologies, will work in control rooms on the ground.

– The employer party did not want to resolve this and said flatly that no to the requirement without promoting any concrete alternative during the mediation. It’s incomprehensible because our claim wouldn’t impose additional costs on companies, he says.

Equinor spokesperson Morten Eek tells E24 that they do not recognize themselves in the claim that they have not followed the rules of the game.

He says Equinor has adapted the activity as a result of the managers’ strike and that there is enough experience on board the platform to run safe and efficient production.

– We have not circumvented the strike rules, so we do not recognize ourselves in this, today we have reduced activity on the platform and adapted the template to ensure greater operation.

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