Crude production from the North Sea's largest field, Johan Sverdrup, and of key benchmark grade Troll could be shut in by strike action this week, should today's mediation talks fail.
Any shutdown would be driven by a walk out of just 12 workers at Norway's Mongstad export terminal. Talks between the Norwegian Union of Energy Workers (Safe) and Norwegian Oil and Gas — which represents the country's oil and gas employers — will conclude at midnight. The union is dissatisfied with the outcomes reached locally with producers state-controlled Equinor and ExxonMobil.
Should no agreement be reached, the strike could affect storage and harbour capacity at Mongstad, which would result in the shutdown of production from Johan Sverdrup and the fields that produce Troll crude. Johan Sverdrup produces more than 500,000 b/d, making it the largest crude grade in the North Sea. Troll crude averages around 143,000 b/d and is one of the five grades underpinning the North Sea Dated benchmark.
The Norwegian oil and gas association said it is hopeful that a settlement could be reached, but pointed out that the dispute is on a local level between workers and the two companies and did not refer to the central labour agreement that was secured last November.
"It is difficult for us to see what we are actually going to mediate about," it said.
