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The plant is located in Nyhamna north of Molde and receives natural gas from Norwegian fields at sea. It has the capacity to export 84 million cubic meters of natural gas daily. According to the state system operator Gassco, it must now be reduced by 50 million cubic meters, and it is mainly the UK that is affected by the lack of gas supply.
Wage dispute
The background is an ongoing dispute over pay agreements, which so far has resulted in 2,373 guards being taken out on strike. The Norsk Arbeitsmandsforbund union is stepping up and eliminating another 85 striking guards since Saturday. Including four key people who have special emergency preparedness tasks at the Nyhamna facility.
The facility requested an exemption from the notice, but was rejected.
– Looks like we have to shut down Nyhamna to ensure safety, and then we do. Safety should never be compared to anything else, says Alfred Skår Hansen, head of system operations at Gassco for NRK.
Large export
Last year, Norway accounted for 22 percent of natural gas deliveries to the EU, making the country the second-largest producer after Russia. A quarter of the gas is extracted from the Ormen Lange and Aasta Hansteen fields in the North Sea, for which the Nyhamna plant is of crucial importance. According to NRK, it is export earnings of NOK 100 million a day that are lost when the strike breaks out.
– These are large installations with large volumes and a lot of energy that must be managed safely. We also expect a quick and safe start-up as soon as the conflict is over, so that the total loss for Norway is as small as possible, says Alfred Skår Hansen.
