Wage talks between oil companies and union representatives have broken down again.
Safe, one of Norway’s largest unions representing onshore and offshore oil workers, has been negotiating pay and working conditions on behalf of 5,000 employees working for a range of companies, including BP, Shell, Statoil and ConocoPhillips.
The two sides were in their fourth round of discussions when time was called. The negotiations are now headed to state-appointed mediation, according to the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association.
A spokesperson for association said: “Industri Energi did not accept our last offer and chose to walk out of the talks while, Safe, Parat and Negotia asked for more time.”
The first mandatory mediation is scheduled for June 16. The unions warned that if talks continue to fail they will take immediate action, shutting down ExxonMobil’s Ringhorne and Balder facilities and a GDF Suez platform. The move would cost a combined 80,000 barrels of oil per day.
In 2012, the unions carried out a similar strike, which lasted 16 days. It was the first walk-out by offshore oil workers since 2004 and shutdown 15% of Norway’s oil production and 7% of its gas output. The mass stand-down pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel.
Norway’s government later stepped in to stop the staff lockout over mounting fears about damage to its crude output.
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