A group of SLB (NYSE: SLB) employees from the UK are to strike in the Norwegian North Sea after a union claimed they’ve been overworked and “grossly underpaid”.
Nine workers on the Island Captain, which is currently under contract for ConocoPhilips on the Ekofisk field, are set to down tools as their work package does not meet the Oil Service Agreement.
The UK arm of the subsea giant, formerly known as Schlumberger, is under contract to carry out well stimulation on the Norwegian field.
However, if demands are not met the SLB UK staff will down tools at midnight on the 30th of March, according to Norweigan union Industri Energi.
This comes soon after SLB reported an 82% jump in its earnings, as it made $3.4 billion in 2022.
The union has carried out an investigation into pay and working conditions for the British employees on the vessel and is stepping in on the matter.
Industri Energi has found that some of the SLB UK staff are working days that are longer than 14 hours, which is also illegal according to the Ship Safety Act.
Deputy head of Industri Energi, Ommund Stokka has said: “We see that our British members on “Island Captain” are grossly underpaid and that they work far too many hours.
“They also receive no compensation for overtime or night work. This is social dumping and we cannot accept such conditions on the Norwegian continental shelf.”
SLB UK was asked for comment.
Ekofisk
ConocoPhillips recently celebrated the Ekofisk reservoir producing more than three billion barrels, over its 50 years of production.
Hitting first oil in 1971, the field reached the milestone in autumn 2021.
Since production started, the Greater Ekofisk Area, comprised of eight fields, has produced six billion barrels of oil equivalent in the Norwegian North Sea.
ConocoPhillips said the asset has generated billions of pounds of value during that time, including significant taxes and fees to the Norwegian government.
Around 3,000 people work on the Ekofisk installations, rigs and vessels, while around 1,000 employees and contractors work offshore at any given time.
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