THREE North Sea oil fields which were in the process of shut down following strike action from Norwegian workers have now re-started production once again after the strike was called off.
Norwegian energy giant Equinor, which has a base of operations in Aberdeen, had begun shutdown operations on the Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East fields, following strike action from members of the Norwegian Organisation of Managers and Executives (Lederne) trade union.
Following Equinor’s announcement of the ‘safe shutdown’ of the fields following the start of strike action on July 5, a later announcement said that the strike had been called off. It emerged that the Norwegian government had proposed a compulsory arbitration to resolve the labor dispute between the Lederne and Norwegian Oil and Gas (Norog) in connection with this year’s basic collective bargaining agreement.
Having intervened in the conflict, the Norwegian Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Marte Mjøs Persen said it would be “indefensible to cease gas production in the scope entailed by this strike over the next few days” given that “the EU and the UK are entirely dependent on their energy partnership with Norway” and that a reduction in Norwegian gas delivery would only increase the current energy crisis.
Work has now began to restart production safely on the strike-affected facilities, and all three fields are expected to be back in full operation within a couple of days.
Total production from Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East is around 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day. While, total production from Heidrun, Kristin/Tyrihans and Aasta Hansteen is around 333,000 boe per day.
